Jaune Arc: Augmented
by DragonManMax
Summary: Jaune Arc was born a genius. A genius with potential, as well as money and resources behind his name. Yet even before his journey begins, his home is razed and his adventure is almost ended there. Instead, he only lost his arms, replacing them with mechanical ones unlike the world has ever seen. Jaune Arc will go to Beacon, to help people who can't help themselves. (Slight AU)
1. Prologue I

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" _ **The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has it's limits."**_

 _ **-Albert Einstein**_

 **Note:** Welcome! Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the prologue of my remade and recreated Jaune Arc: The Tinkerer. It will be much, _much_ better than the previous story. It'll have _more_ action! It'll have _more_ love! It'll have _longer_ chapters! It'll have jokes which are _actually_ clever! It'll have music which _fits_! Hold onto your butts 'cus here it is, 'Jaune Arc: Augmented'!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Prologue I**

* * *

Gazing out the window Jaune directed his gaze to the slowly falling snow.

Soft as a feather, it fell in clumps gathering as it fell so that it transformed from the individual flakes into larger pieces. Some people say that, like people, no two snowflakes are exactly the same. This however is a common misunderstanding. Snowflakes which have been exact replicas of each other have been found before.

But if that is true… Does that mean it is possible for two people to be the exact same?

Is it possible for two people somewhere in this vast, vast universe to be the exact same? From their looks to their brains to the way they think is it possible for people to be the exact same? But, if it was, what would that mean for the soul? If the aura is the reflection of one's soul, and one's soul is the exact same as another person's, would their aura's also be the same?

He was shaken out of his thoughts as the teacher of the small class, Mrs Clancy, raised her head from the downwards position it had taken as she was reading the various forms she had to sign.

"Alright class. Pencils down, turn over your tests and wait for them to be collected."

There were several moans from students who apparently hadn't finished groaned and turned over their papers. There was no point in trying to continue… Mrs Clancy was very strict and wouldn't tolerate any sort of rule breaking in her classroom.

Funny though how they hadn't finished.

Well... Funny to him anyways. He himself found the test easy and finished it within seven minutes of the allotted half hour. But then again, it wasn't surprising to the people in his class considering that they've come to terms with the fact that he's a genius by now.

Maybe it was rude to call it funny that they hadn't finished though. Not everyone can be gifted.

His sheet of paper was taken by the attendant with barely an actual acknowledgment from the stoic teachers assistant. She for some reason really disliked him. Jaune had a few idea's and the one on top was that she was simply mad at him for being himself. For being gifted and smart and not needing to work hard to get math done.

Little did she know he had several tutors at home giving him grade twelve content and subjects. Now _that_ stuff he had to work on. But he was getting better, it was only a matter of time before he got A's in that too.

Realistically, Jaune didn't even have to be in that class right now. But, his parents had insisted that a public school education was an essential part of developing social skills. So, there he was.

It had worked though... Jaune knew very well how to socialise through observation and the few, yet pleasant interactions he had with people here. It was simply that, while he knew _how_ to socialise, Jaune didn't necessarily know what to talk about while doing so since he considered talking about women with massive tits, and games about inhuman amounts of blood flying out of people's ass' stupid unlike most other boys his age.

Who knows though. Maybe his father will very well infect him with his perverted influence one day to the point where _all_ Jaune focuses on _all_ the time is simply women with huge ba-

"If your test has been collected you can leave once the bell rings. Also, please don't just wait at the door like you usually do. It's awfully hard to keep an eye on you when you do that."

Naturally the first thing everyone did was pack up and head to the door. Jaune placed his extra reading into his school provided satchel before heading over to one of the desks closest to the door.

That way he would technically not be waiting _by_ the door, but rather on top of a desk which coincidentally happened to be positioned right beside the door. Damn did he love loopholes.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

A few minutes after reaching his locker and putting on his coat, Jaune was outside the town school waiting for his ride. Looking at all the smaller children that went to the school with their parents made a little smile grace his face.

It was nice to see so many happy people in one place despite the freezing weather. In one corner of the children's playground there was some sort of snowball fight going on which he made a mental note of so as to not walk into it.

A few minutes later his black sedan pulled up and Jaune got into the front passenger seat putting his satchel under his legs. They pulled away from the school and he put on his seatbelt before thinking about making conversation.

Thankfully, the decision was taken out of his hands as the family chauffeur, Colin, spoke up.

"Did you have a good day at school Master Arc?"

"Yes, I had a mundane yet reasonable day today Colin. How about you? Your wife giving you anymore trouble?" Jaune responded easily. He made sure to always know what was going on in his servants lives.

After all, you wouldn't want someone working for you decide that you're too much of a pompous prick and kill you after all. Apparently that happens more often than not over in the Winchester family home.

"My day was rather pleasant thanks. No, me and my wife are just fine now. Turns out I've simply been playing too many games in my spare time… After a talk and some compromising we've made it work." The large bald man replied.

He was about six foot five, human and barely fit in the, compared to him, tiny car. He was dressed, as all Arc male servants were, in a custom made charcoal suit consisting of a long tailcoat with black lining which covered a black vest on top of a white dress shirt. The bottom part was a pair of simple black dress pants held up with some black suspenders which weren't able to be seen as they were underneath the tailcoat.

Colin has been a loyal servant of the Arc family for nine years now ever since he was a fresh graduate. He was much more than just a chauffeur to Jaune. More than the bodyguard he also acted as of course. Really, Colin was like a large, bald, uncle who happened to be there everyday. Who also happened to be trained in seventeen different kinds of unarmed combat...

Then again all of their guards were trained like that. However very few of them resided in or near the manor itself. The closest base for their guards was about two miles away in the forest so that they could keep as much secret from outsiders as possible. There wasn't any really freaky stuff in there but they were pretty advanced compared to the normal guard... Really they were basically the Arc family army. But they had a slow reaction time depending on how quickly they identify the threat and whether they do at all. Then again it's not like that really matters. Anyone who attacks the Arc's must have either some serious ego problems, or be willing to face an army, and a retired hunter.

"That's good Colin." With a momentary, yet comfortable silence around them Jaune leaned onto his hand and looked out the frontwards window at the countryside. It was absolutely blanketed in snow and it just kept on falling without a care in the world. "So Colin, it's been fairly cold out this year eh? Think the increased amount of snow will cause for extra problems this year?"

Tilting his large bald head for a moment he tilted it back before answering. "I'm not sure Master Arc. It could very well cause several roads to become inaccessible but I'm sure your mother is sorting out the snow ploughs as we speak."

"I assume the same. She always was one for being prepared."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

A half hour later they turned off the main highway and onto a lesser used road. It was paved and the quality only improved the further it was from the highway. As the car cruised in near silence over the slightly snow covered pavement Jaune took a moment to take a look around the snow covered landscape.

The road was flanked by a whole forest, or maybe it was more accurate to say that the road went through the forest in the first place, which was massive and filled with fir trees, cedar trees and a whole bunch of pine. While all covered in snow, the animal tracks themselves being covered as soon as they were made, the entire forest looked ethereal as every branch was covered in the stark white substance which reflected light in the most beautiful of ways.

Suddenly though the forest came to an end and the Arc Manor came into sight.

This was his home. The place he returned to after every day of school to his tutors and family to talk relax and learn. It was wonderful.

In the middle of a large clearing, surrounded by a large iron fence, was a snow covered hill. The road they were on went along the clearing to the left where it then looped to the front door and back out of the clearing. Within the loop sat a large frozen fountain which had in yellow covered tile within the ice, the Arc family crest.

Sitting just past the loop towards the front door was a large main portion of the building. It was about three stories and perfectly symmetrical as it went out in both directions. It was large, green in colour, though it was mostly covered by now right now, and had windowsills of about a foot on every window.

Getting out of the car Jaune grabbed his satchel and made his way to the large double doors before putting his eye in front of the retinal scanner.

" _Jaune Arc. Access Granted."_

Swinging open on silent hinges the door handles had turned by themselves and opened revealing the front hall of the home. In the main room was two staircases on both the right and the left of the room curving upwards onto a landing which then lead to the second floor hallways and in extension to the third floor and his room.

Ignoring the stairs and taking a left Jaune made his way to the dining hall. Giving a smile or making a little bit of smalltalk to any maid he passed by on his way Jaune slowly but surely made his way to the dining hall.

Colin had apparently left to do… Whatever it was around the house depending on the day.

As he continued passing through the ornate hallways filled with small tables with flowers or paintings along with the occasional bust of his ancestors he took time to look for any dust which had somehow been missed by the maids.

Noticing nothing out of place Jaune pushed open the seven foot ornate doors which depicted some sort of feasting, and faced the dining hall of Arc Manor.

It was a large room with a high ceiling. In the middle of the room overtop of the large wooden ornate dining table was a splendid chandelier with miniature reflections of light coming off it and reflecting all about the room.

Beyond the table was a large window giving a great view of the surrounding countryside as it filled with more and more snow. Fun fact, it's the only window in the house which was not bullet proof. Meant as a symbol of trust the window was there for symbolism. It was there to show what went on behind the closed doors of the Arc manor and that they were not afraid of anyone who would even _think_ of killing them in their own home. But then again, there was no suitable place to put a sniper that way anyways so, while the thought is nice, the window doesn't actually show vulnerability.

On the left side of the room was a _huge_ set of double doors leading to the largest hallway in the house which would then lead to the atrium and his mother's office but they rarely used those doors. It was easier to use the small ones after all.

To the right of the door was the wall which had two massive paintings of the most revered of Arc ancestors: Gabriel Arc, the said 'angel' who had come down from who knows where in shining white armour during the Great Wars to fight for Vale, and Cobalt Arc, his mother's mother who had turned this family from a family of hunters and fabled heroes into businessmen and women who created and sold goods that made life for everyone better at low prices.

Both of them were equally amazing in his opinion…

In between the two massive paintings was a large stone fireplace which had a relic from the past of the Arcs above it. Sitting above the fireplace was Crocea Mors, The Yellow Death, fabled blade of the Great Wars which slayed men and grimm alike by the thousands. According to the documents the blade is said to be unbreakable under all conditions but held no secrets other than it being a sword.

But even surrounded by all these relics, the oldest thing in the room to Jaune was his father.

' _Ooooh, what a burn! Wow, why don't I say these out loud sometimes? Hmmm. Nobody really likes my lame jokes all that much. How about puns though? Puns are clever and can oftentimes be quite humorous. Huh. What a good idea. I guess puns are my new passion… Fancy that.'_

Looking up from his newspaper Jaune's father reached up and pulled off his glasses leaving them to hang on the string around his neck. "Hello Jaune. How was school?":

Giving one of, as he dubs, his 'Arc Charm' smiles his dad reached up and ruffled his already scraggly hair.

"It was pretty good. We had a test today. It's disappointing that they expect me to still do those but whatever, you know?"

"I'm not sure if that grammar made sense but I think so?"

Jaune watched as his father got up and moved to the tray in the middle of the table and held up the silver teapot.

"Would you like a cup?"

"Yeah, thanks."

He took in his father's current fashion style as he poured his cup of tea.

Currently his father was wearing a white woolen sweater likely chosen out for him by his mother along with some (Thank Oum!) not skinny jeans and some thick black socks which would likely keep his dad warm despite the cold weather outside.

Everyone, meet Jaune's dad. Jaune's dad, meet everyone.

Nicholas Arc, the retired hunter turned millionaire was handsome. Really, if you showed most people a picture they would think he was photoshopped.

He was tan, tall and lean, walked around with a grace dancers would envy, and held absolutely explosive power within those barely fifty year old bones. He had a purposefully unshaven beard which made him look rugged enough to be considered 'wild' but tame enough to be considered 'businessman forgot to shave before work this morning' along with some deep blue eyes which you could get lost in if you were some sort of strange eye diver type thing.

"Here you go!"

Handing Jaune his cup of tea he took a sip thanking the warmth. Even though he was fully clothed and it was not at all near the coldest winter they'd endured in the countryside of Vale, the warmth was still welcome and always served to remind him that he was safe in his home.

"Thanks. So, how was your day today Dad?"

His father tilted his head and looked upwards for a second. "Pretty good. Our stocks went up so that's good… Your mother isn't mad at me so that's good- Wait. Did I just say your mother isn't mad at me? Oh my Oum this isn't good… This is wonderful! I've done it! I've won at life!"

"What do you mean Dad?"

"Well son… Listen to me real close."

Jaune pulled up a chair and sat beside his dad on this very long dining table which thankfully had no stupid arrangements on top of it. Raising his finger in the air as if he was about to point some obscure fact that no one else in the room would've known about until that point.

"Back when I myself was a boy, you-"

"Wow! That was a long time ago! Your memory must be great!" This was what Jaune was talking about! Finally he could use his humor! He knew his dad wouldn't _really_ mind so he could finally unleash his inner, witty and jokester self which was forever hidden at school because people simply chose not to listen.

"Son. Stop interrupting." Taking a moment to collect himself after his son's rude interruption which he reserved the stink eye for he then continued. "Back when I was but a boy, your grandfather sat me down and looked me in the eye serious as can be and he said, ' _Son… There will come a day when you become horribly perverted and have access to a lot of money. Just remember, that no matter how much money you have, your wife will never be happy with you. Which is why our goal as Arcs, the oath we all must make to our own sons is to make at least one woman in our life happy… Because a happy wife is a happy life.'_."

Ending with that still totally serious face Jaune couldn't help but laugh at his father's lame story and impression of his grandfather. How is _this_ the man who was supposedly one of the best businessmen in the world?

"That's kind of weird for him to say isn't it?"

"No… Sadly that is completely true and a fact of life! The day we make a woman truly happy… Is the day the world ends! But really son. Always remember this: Keep your women happy, your trigger finger not, and always use protection!"

Sighing and clunking his head against the tough wooden table for emphasis, Jaune made sure that his groan afterwards was hearable. Sometimes though he wasn't sure if things like that were a joke or not…

"Okay then… Well Dad, you have any idea when everyone else gets home?" Jaune asked not really curious but it was always best to know what was going on… Besides, knowing where his sisters were wasn't such a bad thing really.

"I am pretty sure that Amber is out with her 'boyfriend'," His dad made sure to growl a second after speaking about his twins so called 'boyfriend'.

To be fair, Jaune didn't like him all that much either. Heir to the Winchester family, arrogant, dumb, that was just the beginning of the list. But even then it did slightly baffle him how for some people at the age of fucking (Pardon his french!) thirteen would be more interested in dating than politics and the internal workings of the economic machine…

What was there not to like about economics?

His Dad continued oblivious to the internal monologuing going on within his son. "As I'm sure you know, Violet, Amethyst and Lavender are still at Beacon… Only a year until they're back though so don't be too glum alright Jaune?"

Face palming at the lame 'You must actually care about your sister's being away from you joke' he watched as his father continued.

"Opal, Azure and Marine meanwhile are all still at that retreat that their school was having… You know the one where they go out into the wilderness for no good reason during snow season to rough it out?"

Jaune laughed. They _must_ be loving that! All jokes aside Marine would be for sure, she does love nature so taking a retreat from all the annoying technology and homework must be nice. Azure is probably hating it though… She was the kind who was more into sitting in front of a computer coming up with a new cure to cancer or something. Opal was likely pranking literally everyone there until they decide to jump off cliffs to get away… Thank Oum there was snow at the bottom of that cliff last year otherwise Mr Sorbet wouldn't have made it!

"Well, nice talking to you Dad. What time's dinner?" Deciding that he has made enough chit chat already. While talking to his dad was indeed enjoyable and informative there was reading he could be doing.

"Dinner is~" Looking down at his Schn-olex instead of the massive grandfather clock in the corner of the room his dad took a second to find the time on the complicated top of it before giving up and looking at the grandfather clock. "~Seven is a good time. Your mother should be back and we can eat together yeah?"

"Yup sound fine. See you!"

With a wave he turned on his heel and headed back to his bedroom.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune entered his room a few minutes later and was instantly hit with the comforting smell which he had 'oh so carefully' chosen out from an online realtor called 'Lebreeze' which sold all sorts of smells whether it be in spray, candle, or solid freshener form.

This particular smell, was clean linen.

All this good smell just so happened to be stuck in a room the perfect size. At about twenty feet wide and twenty feet long his room was a near perfect square. On one side was the set of ornate double doors which were polished and shiny, while on the wall directly across from the doors, facing into the lands beyond the manor was four large and clear windows without any sort of muntin bars inside them .

To the left of the door was a area made for mainly gaming and relaxing quite obviously as it had some large navy blue bean bag chairs on top of a carpet which was then on top of a dark wooden floor. On the wall in front of the beanbags, so on the wall to the left of the doors, was a large empty space which was often covered in whatever it was Jaune was working on whether it be a projection from a computer or a whole bunch of things pinned to a board.

He also preferred working in that space as there was speakers built into the sides of the walls which would let out any music he wanted. Other than that though the only other thing on that particular wall was his awards.

Jaune took small pride in his various awards and certificates lining the wall of his room. There were all sorts of awards donning the wall. Chess grandmaster from when he was nine, best startup business plan from eleven, his various straight 'A' report cards from private tutors and regular school alike, and many many more which only went to show that intelligence of himself.

But if there was one certificate that Jaune loved best on that wall it was the single one which made him know that anything was possible as long as he quite literally put his mind to it.

His certificate which stated that his IQ was one hundred and eighty. Thereby making him one of the smartest people in the world, thereby making him somebody with the greatest freedom to do what one wants in life and making him someone with potential to do anything he wishes.

It was awesome having that kind of freedom, and knowing you had it without a doubt.

On the right wall was more of a 'sleeping' area. Pressed against the white walls of the room was his king sized bed, covered in dark blue sheets and pillows. To each side of the bed was a small nightstand, one with a small vase of flowers on it and another with a charging port for his scroll. Beyond the bedside tables were two sets of drawers one on each side.

One was for pants, one for shirts. Any other way and things would just not do.

Finally settling down on one of his large bean bags, he spent a few minutes browsing through the news on his scroll. Seeing that the latest weather reports had predicted at least two feet of snow overnight he thought of sending his sisters a futile sympathy message but decided not to since he would be safe and warm and, while sympathising, wouldn't _want_ to feel any empathy for them as they sat there in the cold.

Which sounded much meaner than it actually was.

Finishing checking the news Jaune put his scroll onto the charger and grabbed out his book. It was actually quite interesting. It was all about heroes and everything that they were and weren't while at the same time keeping one thing very real throughout the entire thing.

That heroes, more often than not, die.

There was a huge list of hunters and huntresses who have died in the line of duty, or who have sacrificed entire towns or themselves just so that someone else could live. Hunters, despite being sung about in all sorts of ballads telling of glory and epic battles for the ages that would be remembered forever, often never were remembered.

The sheer amount of hunters who have died in the line of duty, or out in the wilderness fighting a group of grimm to save a town that didn't even know they were in danger was hallowing. It made him realize how dangerous a career his older sisters were truly going into.

But there was so much more than that.

The book went over courage and bravery. Most people when asked ' _What is bravery?'_ or ' _What is courage?'_ say that bravery is ' _The ability to face all odds, able to face hardship or pain and hardship without giving in to fear.'_ while people say that courage is ' _Strength enabling one to persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty firmly and resolutely.'_.

Neither of those definitions are quite correct.

The book labels bravery as something quite interesting. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity after all, a line so thin that you don't know you've crossed it until you're dead. Bravery could be running into a field of arrows to save someone, unafraid of the harm that might come to you where others might be. While stupidity could be running into a field of arrows to save someone who simply can't be saved.

Courage, is having the resolve, the resolution, to do something without having fear or reservations. Courage is something that is consciously deliberated, unlike bravery which is often impulsive.

But at the same time as all this… Courage could be described as long term bravery, and bravery as short term couragousness.

It truly is quite interesting the stuff that makes heroes. All interchangable, none necessarily needed yet all called qualities of the greatest heroes.

Then there was also what makes the hero…

Whether it be the will to not let what happened to them happen to others, the will to save someone, a simple want to change the world and help people. There were many reasons people became heroes. But there were less noble reasons too for sure. For example with heroism comes recognition and pride, money which can then lead to greed.

Eventually it becomes less about helping the people and more about getting that one extra medal or one extra paycheck in the bank.

Jaune knows that he has choices in life… He is certainly smart enough and gets good grades enough already to go into basically whatever profession he wants. Yet still he remains undecided.

But he knows one thing for sure. He would only ever become a hero if it was to help someone else. Not to get another paycheck or to be noticed. He would simply be a hero for the sake of being a hero of the people.

Simple as that.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Cinder watched in grim anticipation as one by one the lights went out.

The fire continued to warm her hands despite it not being necessary and a small evil smile, not the one ever used around others, broke out on her face as she realized how truly close she was to accomplishing the first phase.

That first phase, was to assemble prodigies.

An soon to be assassin found in Mistral training under his father, a master pickpocket working for the Vacuoan drug lords, an escaped lab experiment with possible dual semblances, a kid on the path of a revolution without knowing it yet. All were impressive specimens when it came to the diverse powers and abilities this world had to offer.

But then there was _him_ …

According to all sources whether they be that of a private family doctor, a tabloid magazine, more reputable websites, distant family themselves and even the opponents beaten in chess they've all said the same thing about the one boy that showed them all just an inkling of his true potential. That he was a honest to Oum prodigy at anything involving the mind.

She needed to have him.

Would he be as brutal and efficient a killer as the assassin? No. Would he perhaps be as useful as the pickpocket when it came to matters of espionage and backstabbing? No. Would he cause a revolution as great as the one possible by the bull in the china shop named Remnant? No. Did he have as much potential in matters of aura that the heterochromatic girl will have? No.

Yet still she needed him.

For he was a master of the mind. According to all findings about him, his grades were top notch, by now he was likely the best if not one of the best chess players in the world showing good forward planning skills, he a possessor of questions that people can't find the answer to, and he was one of the smartest people alive… Once he is able to use his brain to its fullest he would be either her greatest asset or one of her and her so called _master's_ greatest enemies.

She would break him, bend him to her will and show him that this world is cruel unless he is at her side. Yes… It would be perfect…

Turning her back on the burning oil drum Cinder looked at the mercenaries in their all black combat gear as they armed themselves. They loaded themselves up quickly, the guns being filled with both tranquilizer and non-tranquilizer bullets, all of them having both dull edged blades and ones that would cut you if you looked at them.

As they pulled on their night vision goggles she turned back towards the house turning on her self assured and confident smile which made her enemies fear her and her allies fight all the harder thinking she had some trump card up her metaphorical fire lit up in her eyes as it danced along her fingers.

Yes… He will be hers. And if he through some miracle did not become hers?

Then she will have just killed some very important businessmen, from a very important family, making some of her soon to be very important friends very happy…

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune sighed feeling content with the world in general as he made his way up the stairs to his room. He had just finished a wonderful meal courtesy of the Arc family staff, it was some steak and steak fries as he preferred on a Friday night.

While he was rolling back up to his room still thinking of the conversation he had just had with his mother, Jaune thought he noticed one of the maids moving ever so slightly faster than she normally walked through the halls.

Thinking nothing of it Jaune made his way back up to his floor where he couldn't hear his father training in the basement anymore. While his father was a retired hunter, it didn't hurt to keep in shape especially with that body. Therefore he trains every second night to keep himself limber and prepared in case of any too eager assassins.

Once he was back in his room Jaune shut off the lights and closed his curtains before turning on his projector using his scroll. It was about eight thirty P.M. during which he would normally be doing homework from his private tutors but it was Friday so he got today off. Yay!~

Turning on one of the few guilty pleasures he had Jaune got into his beanbag and began playing ' _Civilization XXX'_ off of his scroll which was connected to his projector.

A few minutes later he was settling down a city right in a choke point specifically to get trade access to both Singapore and Vancouver, while at the same time acquiring access to pearls and crab, while _then_ further annoying the Greeks into denouncing him.

Taking a quick look at the score he could see he was a good two hundred points above the guy below him and he quickly scrolled over to Gandhi's territory to make sure he didn't have any of those surprise units they loved giving to the computer players on max difficulty.

Eventually though it became too simple as Jaune always enjoys the rush of the beginning game and the subtle mid game the best. Turning off the projector and closing it on his scroll Jaune hopped onto his bed in an uncharacteristic fashion before going out like a light as soon as that head hit the pillow, all the while thinking about how this infinitely massive universe is made of things far, far too small to see.

As his eyes closed however, Jaune could've sworn he had smelt something very similar to something burning.

...Tic...Toc...

 **(Insert Song: He Who Brings the Night by: Two Steps From Hell)**

...Tic...Toc...

His eyes shot up as he actually realized what he had just said. Something _was_ burning! Why hadn't the smoke alarm gone off? Why was there no screaming? Why has nobody done anything?

' _Candles? No, mother doesn't burn incense or candles anymore. Fireplace? No, ventilation is too good to cause this concentration of smoke…'_ As those thoughts ran through his mind a small amount of smoke began creeping under his door and slowly wafted upwards towards the ceiling. ' _No. Cause doesn't matter right now. What matters is why the alarm hasn't gone off yet.'_

Looking at the most possible reason, Jaune saw that on his bedside table, where his scroll's charging indicator was normally turned on, it was now turned off meaning that it wasn't charging. Meaning that it wasn't getting power from the charging port. Meaning! That there was no electricity going to that outlet, and likely no power going to the entire house.

' _Wait? Aren't smoke detectors powered by batteries? Oh my Oum we're being attacked! That explains why the maid was walking faster. Likely nervous from having just sabotaged something like that.'_ Jaune recalled a half hour before using his near photographic memory.

There he saw once again the maid walk by in front of him. Short hair, purple, in a bob cut style, standard uniform, standard face. But clutched in her right hand, the hand which had been away from him, was a sliver of black material which he hadn't quite noticed before… The batteries.

Grabbing his scroll from the port he launched out of bed getting down to the floor where smoke was less common. The most logical thing to do next was to find either his father or get out of the building…. Before that though he'd have to alert everyone. But how? His father likely can't hear or notice the smoke, no signal on his scroll meaning that jammers were probably set up outside.

His mother was likely in her office right now sorting out those snow ploughs… All in all though they were all on the west side of the house, meaning that if it was coming from the east, he should flee west. Hopefully anyone could think that far.

Making his way quickly but carefully towards the door Jaune was about to open the door handle until he heard them. The first gunshots coming out one at a time until there was a deadly cacophony of grim music filling the halls of the Arc family home.

The first screams filled his ears as people begged for their lives.

More and more gunshots filled the air as the servants quarters on the _east_ side of the home was turned into what he assumed was a flaming ball of fire and blood. War and chaos.

Yanking the door open Jaune looked into the smoke filled hallway and was terrified of what he saw to his left.

On his left was the hallway which was filling with smoke as the thick black substance wafted through creeping like a thousand dark hands through the air. Light came from the end of the hallway as more and more gunshots rang out. It was spreading too fast to be natural but he already knew it wasn't.

The wood floor began crackling and the ceiling began to burn too as more and more smoke came pouring out.

Turning to his right Jaune ran. He ran for his life. He ran nearly tripping over himself as he continued going fast as his legs could carry him down the hallway. The stairs were only six feet away but then he heard voices behind him which were heavily distorted.

"There's the kid! Get him!"

Making it to the stairs Jaune ran onto the first set before jumping in a risky maneuver and sliding down the bannister as he's seen his sisters do before in their childhood. Behind him he could hear gunshots before some splinters of wood went flying at him from the holes now in the bannister in front of him.

Rolling off and into the lobby he could hear the guttural screams of the two men and could feel the heat above him rise as more sparks went cascading through the air setting fire to what he could only assume were the curtains and carpet.

Not daring to look back he ran forwards hoping his father would be able to take care of himself.

As he ran in the direction of his mother he could hear more and more screams until they began dying down. Gunshots were common and smoke began to catch up to him in a way which was impossibly fast. Even though he knew for a fact that the fire was unnatural, it was still moving along at an insane rate even taking in what should be an accelerated process.

' _One of them must be constantly and either literally or metaphorically stoking the fire…'_

As he ran down those hallways towards his mother's office Jaune couldn't help but think of how he'd get out of the situation. It made the most sense to join up with his mother first so that they could escape but that was the golden question wasn't it.

How.

How would they escape what would be a burning hell in what he predicted to be fewer than five minutes? They could try getting out the window but that would lead to likely hypothermia… Even then the windows weren't an option, the ones on the front and back of the building were all bullet proof… He could break through it using a tungsten pen and some extraordinarily stretchy socks but he didn't have any of those…

Damnnit! He would figure it out later!

Rushing around the corridor the gunshots came to an eerie halt. Passing by the priceless paintings the busts and the tables which were meticulously carved in the deserts of Vacuo all Jaune could think was that soon it would all be enveloped in the flames chasing him.

All of it would be turned into nothing but fuel in mere minutes. But he would make damn sure one of those things is _not him_.

Sparing a moment to look back he processed everything he could see. The fire had consumed the hallway rather than creeping up it, and was stopped at what looked like the ten foot solid stone portion of the floor, though the walls kept on burning at a much slower rate.

But there was his mother's office's door in sight so he was almost to the end zone.

Finally bursting through the door he could see his mother sitting in her chair scrambling under candle light to burn some documents which he could tell were extremely important. "Mum, we've got to go NOW!"

His mother turned to her with her long mane of golden hair shimmering behind her. "Just a moment sweetie, I've got stuff to burn!"

Running up to the desk Jaune grabbed the papers off the desk and snuffed out the candle. Taking his mother's hand and ignoring whatever she said in process he dragged her out the door. Crumpling the papers in one hand he left her by the side hallway which would loop around through the atrium and to the dining hall Jaune ran towards the flames and despite the near blistering heat dropped the crumpled paper ball into the flames.

Returning to his mum, he took a moment to take in her appearance right now in this dim and smoke filled hallway.

Jane Arc stood there dressed in her usual charcoal grey pantsuit and black open-toed three inch heels, her silver eyes were alight with fear, admiration and something he couldn't quite place his finger on. Sorrow perhaps?

Sorrow that her precious home, _his_ home was being destroyed in front of their eyes? Yes… Quite possible indeed.

As they ran down the corridor and through the atrium Jaune looked upwards and through the skylight seeing just a sliver of that broken moon before the clouds covered it once more and the snow continued falling. Seeing that the last of the belladonna lilies was dying off brought him not shock but a sense of conclusion. A sense that as it died, so too would this home of the Arcs.

But he would make sure that this _generation_ of Arcs would not die today.

Taking brief reprieve in the safety of the stone floor and walled atrium he turned to his mother. "Mum, any idea who's doing this?"

"No."

"Any idea of _why_?"

"No."

"That's fine then. Know of a way out? We should assume the worst and think that they have people positioned on all doors going outwards." He was filling her on on what he's observed so far.

Would it have made sense for him to try the front door when running through the lobby earlier? For a normal person, yes, it would've been a first reaction. But for someone like _him_ who saw every possible outcome and assumed the worst?

It would've simply been a waste of time.

"Jaune. There's a passage out in the dining hall. If we manage to wait long enough for your father to get ou-" He cut her off before she could finish.

"Mum, listen! Dad isn't going to make it out of that basement if he hasn't by now. The fires gotten to the entrance already… We've got to just get to the dining hall and take the passage out and we should just run until our security gets here. The fire's smoke should rise above the forest and into sight of the base in the next twelve minutes…"

"Jaune, if it's between me or yo-"

"Shut up mum." He once again cut her off.

" _Excuse me young man?_ " Jane said not believing what she was hearing. He was always polite and cordial as he made a special point to be around most people. It was extremely telling for him to swear right now.

It was telling her that he was afraid out of his mind right now.

"I said shut up mum! Listen, you're going to be the first priority since it makes sense alright? If you force me I will not go. If you make it out you have access to the accounts, the money, the everything to help more people than I can right now… Besides, if dad is already… Gone… Then that would only leave me to take care of my sisters and three of them haven't started having periods yet and I already can barely live with them. So please mum, don't argue with me!"

"F-fine but swear to me right now that you won't die!" Pointing into his chest and wasting valuable time she made him swear. It would keep him safe in her mind as he knew… After all, an Arc never broke their word written or otherwise and he would be no exception.

"I promise Mom… On my family's name and on the grave of my sisters."

Ruffling his hair as tears began trailing down her face she then pulled him close holding his body close to her. He hugged her back knowing that it was all just for comfort, but comfort was never a bad thing.

But like all good things, it had to come to an end.

"Mum, I really hate to break up this mother-son bonding we've got going on right now but we've kind of got to go."

"Right… Just give me a second." Pulling herself away from him with some noticeable reluctance his mother took a minute to wipe her face with the back of her hand before sniffling and mumbling. "If only the people at work could see me now…"

Taking his mom's hand in his they jogged at a quick pace towards the dining hall as some distant gunshots were heard from behind them. Counting that there were about four guns behind him we went back to the past in his memory and counted about nine or so guns were there in total… Counting whoever was controlling the flames that was ten enemies.

But since they were using automatic guns it was likely that they were nothing more than mercenaries rather than professional hunter hit men which would be much more difficult to deal with.

But if there were only four behind them that meant that there were six somewhere in the house… If he was an enemy he would send them off in pairs of two beside each other with one being a foot ahead walking on a slant so as to have the ally behind him within line of sight… Groups of two, likely sent to each main place in the house… Maybe three would stick with the one causing the fire though.

That would be good yet bad.

Good in the sense that if they ran into the two it would only be two in the immediate area… Also good because that means that there's only two groups going around not counting the one of four behind them… But bad since there was no way they could take down the fire starter without taking out their guard.

Shaking that out of his head he stopped focusing on what could possibly happen and assumed the worst… He began assuming that everything could happen… As was his specialty...

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

A few minutes later they had traversed the rest of the house passing by hallway after hallway and corridor after corridor, none of which would lead to a way out. There was fire lurking in the depths and shadows of the corridors as they continued onwards not with the same speed as the main hallways but still with a rapid pace.

His mother had barely worked up a sweat even in this blistering heat while he was wet as a pig which was… Doing whatever it is that pigs do to get wet?

Finally making it to the end of the hallway they looked at the large doors which would lead into the dining hall. Looking over to his mother he tilted his head before she nodded and placed one hand on the polished and smooth door.

Moving over to the same door Jaune made sure that the latch at the top was undone before they, on the count of three, shoved it forwards and it swung open. Poking a head inside he could see the crackling embers of the fireplace and Crocea Mors shining in the dim light of the dying embers of the fire.

The dining room was quite tranquil despite what was going on outside it. It made him angry.

His mother strode around the table and looked towards the door before making her way to the end of the table. Digging around in some sort of drawer built into the end she pointed at both doors with one hand. "Jaune, sweetie, can you please block the doors? We need to get out of here remember?"

He moved over to the small doors first despite the fact that four soldiers were heard behind them earlier. It made the most sense to _him_ to block the small doors first so that he could 'Murphy's Law' wouldn't totally screw them over because of wrong decision.

As he took chars and put them under the handles he heard his mother close the drawer holding some sort of simple looking dagger which was really nothing more than a large kitchen knife with a ornate handle.

Ignoring what she was doing so that he could focus on his current assigned task he looked down the hallway that they had come from and what he saw there shook him to his core. There standing in front of flames which were right on their heels were four men all in black.

Totally covered in equipment from tactical vests to backpacks and extra shotgun shells strapped in even though they carried fully automatic rifles. Their eyes glowed green with night vision goggles and they turned to him one by one all staring as if they had found their prize.

Adrenaline surged through his veins and he dashed to the side of the wall watching as bullets whizzed past where he had just been standing. Pressing his back against the wall he raised his feet so that they were resting on the door and pushed.

The door swung shut with a heavy, yet easy swing and was closed. Grabbing onto the crossbar he dropped it so that it would cover both sides of the doors and looked around at his mother.

Seemingly unperturbed by the whizzing bullets she was now standing in front the painting of her mother. "Sorry mum."

Stabbing the plain dagger into her deceased mother's face was not something Jaune would have ever considered seeing her do in his lifetime but it would help them get out so he refused to let his shock show.

She ripped the knife down until there was a hole in the painting about the size of a person going from the nose to the adam's apple. As she ripped through and down the painting there was running down the hallway they had come from and he could hear extra shuffling sounding from the small doors of the dining hall.

"Mum. You've got to go. Now." He basically ordered her. Ignoring whatever she had to say next he did one of the strangest things he's ever done in his life.

Walking over to the fireplace he pulled up a chair and grabbed Crocea Mors off of the wall. Feeling the heavy sword handle settle into his right hand almost as if it was made for him he drew the sword with a rasp and held it at his side.

The four foot sword shone dully in the smoldering embers of the fire. Taking the leather strap in the which would be connected to the belt Jaune tugged on it hard and the rest of the scabbard extended outwards into the white kite shield it actually was.

While he had no idea how to fight with it properly he had seen his father's training and general idea of how physics works… Technically his stance was the best for what he was going to be doing. That being hiding behind a shield and praying really.

Well, that and a last ditch escape plan in the event absolutely everything goes to shit.

As the shuffling grew nearer there was shouts of cliche things one would see in an action which were apparently actually said. Things like 'He's in there!' or 'Target acquired!' for instance.

His mother looked down at his actions and more tears began dripping down her face. It was almost enough to make him break and he could feel moisture building up at the thought that this might be the last time he see's here but he just pushed it to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to be stupid.

"Mom. I've got to stay here so that I can cover up the hole you've left and to buy you time. Just remember I love you okay? A-and tell the girls I'm sorry." His voice cracking near the end was a greater show of emotion than what he normally let out. Seems like he was getting more emotional by the minute.

Great.

His mother rushed over one last time and he dropped his arms to his sides letting Crocea Mors scrape the floor and the shield rest.

Placing her head onto his she pulled him into a hug he couldn't reciprocate and kissed his head. Feeling his hair grow somewhat more moist than what it should be getting he looked up into her eyes and pushed her away deciding to make one last witty comment before she left.

"Don't worry mum. A promise is a promise and I don't intend on dying anytime soon. After all, I haven't even gotten a girlfriend yet."

Smiling just a tad at that she pushed her way through the flaps of the painting into what he could only assume was a staircase leading out to the country somewhere. Hearing a pounding on the doors he had blocked off Jaune knew it was only about three minutes until they broke through at the current rate.

Jaune got to work, stacking chairs in an intricate, tetris like way in front of the torn painting. While not much it would block them for a minute at least. Taking the tablecloth off of the table Jaune stood in between the fire place and the pile of chairs.

Strategically it was the best spot.

He had a view of both doors, the window, and the tunnel. He had cover from the table and leftover chairs while at the same time making any attack angle through the smaller doors slightly awkward. Jaune also had access to the embers from the flame and most importantly, the window.

Breathing to calm his nerves Jaune was prepared for the inevitable moment when the doors were blown off their hinges. With the doors falling over and leaning slightly on the table in a awkward manner, smoke came flowing out of the hallway and into the room quickly gathering at the top.

It was a good thing that the room had high ceilings otherwise he was sure breathing would be even more difficult than it was right now.

The four men in black walked through the doorway spreading out to either side of the table two on each. After a moment of them toting their guns at him one of them, the guy they must've nominated as leader on the spot spoke up.

"GET ON THE FUCKING GROUND!" The man shouted in some sort of heavy foreign accent. Native to the… North western region of Atlas? In less than the five seconds it took for him to shout at Jaune he figured out where he came from. Then again a voice tells you much more than what it says after all.

Attempting to stop the impossible to stop eye roll Jaune just lowered the shield an inch feeling slightly more confident. If they had wanted to kill them they would've killed him by now.

"No."

"I SAID GET ON THE FUCKING GROUND!"

"Listen here Mr. 'I've got to compensate for my small penis by shouting loudly!'" At the nickname one of his buddies snickered but was quickly shut up when everyone looked at him. Jaune continued. " _I_ am _not_ going to get on the ground and _you_ are not going to shoot me? Got it?"

"GET ON THE GROUND OR ELSE I SHOOT" Once again 'Mr. Compensate' shouted and Jaune was sure without the mask there would be spittle flying out of his mouth.

"L-listen! L-listen people! Money is good yeah? Money is the reason you do this stuff right? I can only imagine how much you're being paid to take out one of the most important families in the world… Can you imagine that doubled? Tripled? Quadrupled? Here! How about this! You take _my_ deal and side with me right here against your buds, and I'll quadruple your fee _and_ give you all jobs as heads of security!" Jaune started to talk his way out as he wasn't quite confident on how well he could take out four people with guns to his sword and shield.

He was no idiot obviously, he was well aware that money was a motivator behind these people and nearly everyone else on Remnant whether it be to pay for luxury or to get by. These people, they worked so dangerous to make money. _Lots_ of money.

For taking out people like the Arcs they'd get payed _a lot_. But if he was to quadruple that? They could retire totally fine and if not have a well paying and secure job for the rest of their lives.

They looked at each other. The looking continued for several more seconds. Hearing even more shuffling and some banging from the other side of the smaller doors he looked towards them with a look that burned.

"Make your decision now!"

Mr. Compensate decided to answer for the group. "Who's to say that you won't just use us? We're working for some dan-"

"Yeah I get that! But even in Atlas you must've heard of how Arc's always keep their word! It's common knowledge! You've got mere seconds to decide now and the clocks ticking. Now tell me… Would you like to be rich and on the right side? Or would you like to be working for the wrong side kidnapping a _child_? Now, choose wisely."

Whatever the next answer was going to be, it was cut off when the smaller doors were, like the larger ones, blown off their hinges.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Cinder was, to put it _very_ lightly, ticked. To put it in the heaviest way possible, she was fucking pissed off as hell.

She couldn't believe that those pests, those servants would have the sheer audacity to lift a finger against her for a single moment. The imbeciles why couldn't they just stand there and die! Too damn loyal to their masters for their own good. She even had to resort to burning some to a crisp herself which was a drain on her powers which, combined with keeping the house fire away from the mercenaries, was difficult.

Not to mention aura consuming.

But things had gotten even worse when the kid had blocked the damn doors. Things should've gone easily… They go in, the servants don't get in their way, they march up to the kids room and take him just like that leaving the rest of the home to burn down… Instead, the kid got out, found his mother, his father was apparently _training_ today and is now missing in the house, and blocked some doors. In short, that damn genius was being annoying as hell.

She needed him. But if she couldn't have him? Nobody could. If the kid refuses? He won't live to remember her face. She was sure that _that_ part of the plan wouldn't go wrong.

Turning to the three idiotic mercenaries that couldn't do as much as bust through a blocked door she gave a sigh.

"Get out of the way you idiots." They, rather fearfully may she add, hopped to obey her command probably having an idea of what would happen next.

Stepping back about four feet from the double doors she began focusing and shifting her aura into fuel for her semblance and fire appeared in her palm in a small flicker which was deceiving to all but her.

Simply throwing it at the door as one would a pebble it went soaring through the air coming into contact with the wood in less than a second. The door was blown off its hinges and a huge spiral-like scorch mark appeared in the wood as it went deep.

Ignoring the blisteringly hot air coming from in front of her she walked in knowing that her mercenaries wouldn't be able to until she did.

Inside her golden eyes widened. To the left of a large and stupidly ornate dining table was four of her mercenaries pointing their guns at the target. To the right of the stupid table Cinder saw some sort of chair built structure beside a fireplace.

Beside the fireplace she saw _him_.

Jaune Arc stood there with his family heirloom in hand looking like he had a very, _very_ , basic understanding of how to hold a sword. But, things had already been wrong. He was supposed to be on the ground by now… She had made it clear after she incinerated the idiots from earlier who shot at him that he was to be kept on the ground and captured.

Not standing while holding a weapon.

Tutting to herself as she strutted into the room golden eyes simply burning with anger. Quite literally may I add.

"What are you doing? I said to keep him on the ground alive." Gesturing towards him she continued. "Go on~! Hop to it now..."

They looked among each other and she decided she has had enough. Lighting up her left palm with a much larger orb of flame which barely heated her skin he formed it into a whip before looking at them. "I said NOW."

Scrambling to do so they walked forwards around the table towards the kid guns still trained on him. One of them got within sword swinging range and got wary. There was really no reason for them to be wary at all.

But as they all got closer to the boy, the four seemed to block him entirely from her sight. What she was not expecting however was for the guns to be turned on her. What she was definitely not expecting was what was going to happen in the next minute.

That one minute which would change _everything_.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune nearly smirked to himself as they approached him. It seems his original assumption was correct after all… No matter how scary the employer or how much loyalty they had, most people would break after enough money to swim in.

Too bad they wouldn't be getting that money.

As they approached he looked to the ones on his right. They were about in swinging range now. Thinking about adding some more 'security theatre' for the mysterious womans benefit he decided against it.

Time to take a calculated risk.

As they came he lowered his sword so that the tip rested against the ground and his shield hung at his side. Walking towards him the men on both sides approached him. Turning to the side the woman couldn't see he raised an eyebrow at one of them.

He got a barely perceivable nod in response.

They covered him from sight with the two on his left pointing their guns at him still. Their muscles tensed all at once… One of the mercenaries to his right had his gun still trained on him while one was holding it with one hand only and reaching towards him slowly.

Prepared to make it, prepared to hopefully take every hostile enemy out in one blow, Jaune and the rest tensed themselves. Feeling his muscles clench and his grip on the leather wrapped handle of Crocea Mors tighten he was about to leap into action.

Leaving out the window? Not an option currently… He would make it out. Probably. But once he did they could gun him down with ease from the window. Leaving the option he chose. Leaving that one last option which would cost some people everything.

Will it be worth it?

Yes.

All hell broke loose.

Jaune leapt forwards raising his shield again as he landed and slid across the dining table. The mercenaries instantly turned on their friends and as soon as their spinning took them past where Jaune had landed began spraying into the doorway.

One merc went down then another on the enemies side as a few hit the floor and returned fire. Two of his own side were dead bullets in their chests and the blood seeped out onto the floor likely staining the wood.

Taking out the last enemy the two mercs on his side began reloading. The woman all the while watched with a smirk as they reloaded and began shooting bullet after bullet at her.

Not a single one hit.

Simply raising her hand a wall of pure fire appeared in front of her melting the bullets. He could feel the blistering heat from where he was and the second she moved her hand again he began sprinting forwards.

Using her own shield as a cover for himself he ignored the hot air as it rushed past him making him sweat immediately. The remaining mercenaries on his side were dead within seconds reduced to nothing easily.

Not having time to worry about whether it was far enough away from her or not he continued onwards spinning with Crocea Mors slicing through the air in a silver blur and the shield swinging downwards so that the carried over momentum could be used to turn away yet again.

But then things went even less according to plan.

He felt a searing pain up his arms and couldn't do anything but scream as he dropped to his knees the blade and shield forgotten as they went flying through the air. Looking down at his hands he could see that they were now covered in third degree burns.

Moving up his arms he could see his pajamas were totally gone and his skin crispy and painful as it oozed with puss and something which would've been blood had it not been evaporated as soon as it appeared leaving nothing but a red smudge on the skin.

These horrendous burns went all the way from the tips of his now melted finger nails and destroyed fingers to his upper arm ending just below his shoulder. All the while he continued screaming.

He screamed until his voice was raw until he could scream no more but then the screaming stopped and he simply knelt there trembling with tears running down his face any logical thought abandoned.

It's not like in the movies where people just scream and scream and scream… Eventually everyone breaks and the screaming stops. Whether that be because the nerve endings are destroyed or because their mental fortitude isn't strong enough doesn't matter.

Eventually, no matter what, the screaming stops somehow.

He could see though. He could see Crocea Mors laying there in the ground in front of him, sword and shield side by side. Jaune could hear some shuffling before he managed to get a proper angle on the sword.

"Documents say that this sword, like the Arc name, will never be destroyed…" Picking up Crocea Mors by the handle she looked it up and down as he watched wishing he could do anything.

"Everything and anything can be destroyed… That is the cruel truth of this world." Her hand glowed white hot and the handle melted the rest of the blade following in suit as the molten metal flowed off her palm and into the floor causing huge amounts of steam to be unleashed.

Hearing the clicking of heels against the wooden floor his mind barely registered it before his chin was grabbed and his head turned sharply upwards. Jaune began looking into an admittedly beautiful face with eyes that were not amused.

"You know what? You're not all that special after all… There are plenty of other genius'." Letting his head drop back to his chest he barely registered anything. Deep in his subconsciousness though he knew what was going on… He knew that this was it for him.

"Here I thought you were special though… _The_ one… I didn't think you'd be the kind of idiotic child who thinks being a hero is easy and rushes in with a sword they can't use properly… I thought you'd be better than this…" Mustering the will to look up Jaune saw her standing there her red dress a shade lighter than blood as certain threads in it lit up.

"But sadly, I can't let you live to learn from those mistakes… Take it as a compliment though. You're smart enough to be worth killing." Forming a spear of fire in her hand.

It was beautiful and deadly, likely would cauterize the wound as it inflicted it. Dangerous. Efficient. Smart.

Funny how with all his one hundred and eighty IQ points, smarts wouldn't save him. Nothing could. He would die, just as every other person would. In a way it was comforting. While not all people are born equal, all men must die.

Managing to close his eyes before the final strike came Jaune prayed to whatever thing could possibly be in this infinite universe of tiny things that he could turn into a ghost just to haunt this woman for the rest of her life.

But then something unexpected happened. Something which was definitely unexpected.

The floor in front of Jaune exploded, splinters going everywhere as chips sliced by him but didn't hit him. Shocked out of his- Well… Shock from earlier, Jaune could feel his brain as it sped up to comprehend what he was seeing.

Standing there in front of a large hole in the floor was his father Nicholas Arc in full battle gear.

But not any battle gear no… It was the armour of Gabriel 'Angel' Arc.

Layered overtop of gleaming silver chainmail, the white-steel plates covered a large portion of his torso, his shoulders and legs in the forms of greaves and bracers. The white gleamed and was outlines by golden gilding across the sides. A pair of huge metal gauntlets with spikes in the knuckles covered his hands. At the back of his armour was the Arc family insignia the dual Arcs shining in the light of the woman's fiery lance.

"Son… I'm sorry for what I'm about to do but don't worry about me okay? I'll have back up soon."

' _What does he mean he's sorry for what he's about to do?'_

Jaune found out a moment later as his father backpedalled away from the fiery woman who was in a cocoon of protective flame right now. Grabbing onto the remains of his shirt by the back like one would pick up a cat his father turned to the back of the room and threw him towards the window.

Turning his body midair Jaune just managed to tilt himself so that his back was to the window when he crashed through. The broken pieces fell cutting up his face and getting caught in his hair but that wasn't the problem right now.

He was about to start screaming yet again before he was muffled by the snow bank he crashed into.

Digging his way out by shaking his upper body a lot he made his way out of the snow gasping for breath. Wishing that his arms weren't screwed up so that he could at least rub his hands together Jaune knew only one thing.

He had to move.

Struggling to his feet he stumbled forwards and crested over the top of the snow falling again and sliding down on his back. The icy cold wind bit through his clothes as he moved forwards shuffling then stumbling then barely keeping himself together Jaune put about two hundred meters between himself and the house before he was at the end of his rope.

He would escape only to die.

Now that his brain had caught up with everything he knew very well what situation he was in.

He was going to die after escaping death by the skin of his teeth. After making through the first attempt at capturing him he made it out. After the second attempt he talked his way out. After having his arms crippled so that he wouldn't bring down a blade he still survived by the generosity of the fickle thing called fate…

Yet he wouldn't survive this time.

It was proven that hypothermia is more common if one has burns, which is why you don't pour ice water on a burn. Yet here he was surrounded in snow, covered in terrible burns and bleeding from broken glass, and too many other things to count.

But even without the increased chance of hypothermia, the chance of getting it normally was high.

Breathing heavily Jaune looked upwards hoping to see the stars, extending into infinity one last time before he died. What he saw instead was ugly grey clouds which covered the moon before moving on. Snow continued to fall and soon there was an unhealthy amount in his hair and covering his back.

' _Damn it! I can't die here. I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't! I CAN'T!'_ Repeating that same line over and over again Jaune knew it was fruitless but felt the need to say it. He can't die here. He still had to get a girlfriend, and be successful and ruin all his childhood bullies, and avenge Colin!

Still unable to feel his arms Jaune could feel his tears freezing to his cheeks as they came out.

Closing his eyes and just trying to empty his mind of all thought so as to make his passing easier he succeeded. For the most part. There was still this itch though, this one annoying droning sound at the back of his mind growing forever louder until it seemed like it was right upo-

His eyes flew open and he looked upwards.

There outlined against the clouds were three military Bullheads from the Arc family security firm coming in hot. The sleek white machines glowed in the darkness skimming across the sky. He knew that they were his last hope at life.

His last hope of _being_ alive.

But how? How would he contact them? It was dark and they wouldn't be looking down. Coming in too fast to see him if he waved. Naturally Jaune kept his emergency flares in his other pajama bottoms… Look at that. Making a joke at a time like this.

Jokes… There was that to live for too. So many things to live for and so many ways to die. What a cruel world they lived in. Maybe he should just succ- ' _No! No stopping here Jaune! We've gone too far to die now. Now tell me what are you going to do?'_

He was surprised. There was this other nagging voice in his head, this one little thing telling him to continue. But it was so insistent that all previous thought of giving up was gone… He would continue. Endure. Move forwards.

Survive.

His voice rose with a croak. "I will survive."

Again this time clearer. "I will endure."

Once more this time more powerful and filled with determination. "I. WILL. LIVE."

He could feel himself screaming once more as pure white light poured from his eyes and ears and skin enveloping him in warmth and a soothing sensation that brought tingles around his body. His feet lost their numbness and his teeth stopped shattering, his vision opened up to a whole different spectrum of colour.

Then, filled with words he didn't know while at the same time knowing them inside out, he spoke.

" _For it is when the wings of darkness blot out the sun and the a war with beasts brings about the world's end that we look towards fate and curse this cruel world. But I shall endure, survive, live, fight with tooth and nail, claw and fang, scrape, scratch, and throw myself against the barbed chains of fate fighting an endless battle to be free from the inescapable. I shall become a hero, a light in a world of dark, a legend remembered for all time. I shall find order within the inescapable chaos and change this reality... I will look towards the infinite mystery of my inner light to cast away eternal darkness and despair to protect those that need protecting. I shall become a hero, a legend, a paragon."_

Then a light so bright it stung the eyes it emanated from appeared and seared through the darkness of the night. The last thing Jaune saw before the world went dark was a single glittering snowflake being blown around in the wind, unable to escape it's destiny, it's pre-determined course.

He fell into darkness knowing that no matter what came next…

He would create his own destiny.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Hello! Welcome to Jaune Arc: Augmented. This rewrite will be different. _Very_ different and yet the same. I've taken time to improve myself, improve my writing, and take in feedback. The only thing left to do is thank all of you who've been here since the beginning, and to thank all of those just signing up for this amazing adventure.

Don't expect chapters this long anytime soon. It, while immensely refreshing and fun to write, was an anomaly. Most chapters though, will be going from six thousand words long to eight thousand words long.

Last but not least, I've decided to remove review responses from the beginning. Why you may ask? Since it makes more sense to put them at the end. This way, you can hop right into the story without scrolling through my rambling nonsense, or if you don't want to see it at all, just close the tab when you get to the authors note.

Once again, thanks for all the amazing support. I can say for a fact that I wasn't expecting the _insane_ amount of love I've received from this community when all I came in here to do was write down a semi-crappy story about Ironman Jaune…

Please, leave a review, a favorite and a like if you're from my old version (Or the new one.) and have a wonderful day. I know I will!~


	2. Prologue II

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" _ **Intellectuals solve problems. Genius' prevent them."**_

 _ **-Albert Einstein**_

 **Note:** Hello! Welcome back. Second chapter of the rewrite here and ready! Things are going well! Good to see a whole bunch of old readers reviewing!~ To those of you who're new welcome! It's good to see you also! I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter… The pressure is on!

To those of you who feel like this isn't enough like the original please bear with me. Once initiation is over, so in two to three chapters, things will take a less serious tone and be more like the original.

To those of you who feel like this is a self insert please know that this is not. This is the story of a Jaune who is born smarter than anyone he encounters. Not a story of me if I was that smart and rich and at the top of the world.

To those of you who feel like Jaune has no flaws then please think again. I had a wonderful conversation with one of you where I revealed some of my plans for later on and trust me Jaune will have flaws… He will be as human as you or me with both physical flaws, mental flaws, and social flaws.

To those of you who simply don't like it, please just leave if you don't want to read it. If you'd like to see where it goes and you're from the original stick around, things'll get more normal soon. If you're new and don't want to read it then feel free to leave. Nobody is keeping you here.

Enough ranting now! I'll answer reviews at the end of the chapter despite me having answered most in private message. You know, since lots of people have the same questions sometimes.

Now enter chapter two of Jaune Arc: Augmented!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Prologue II**

* * *

 _Dark lightning flashed overhead. Looking upwards all he could see was never ending darkness which went on forever and forever into the depths of the infinite universe they lived in. Looking downwards and away from the eternal darkness he could see nothing else._

 _His entire world had become darkness._

 _He couldn't see anything and didn't feel himself blinking while he was barely thinking anything._

 _But then he could feel himself blink once more and he was taken back to that one night back on that snow bank and he was filled with dread. He has had this dream before but no matter how many times he's had it, it would never stop terrifying him._

 _Standing in front of the dark and ruined forest stood the subject of his nightly terrors. The woman._

 _Standing there her face was framed in that midnight dark hair blending in with yet standing out against the dark backdrop of the forest. Alabaster skin shone against the moonlight as yet more lightning which was now white crashed across the sky without thunder to announce it's arrival._

 _She stood there the same way she had in real life a hand against her hip seeming eternally cocky. A smirk plastered on her face the cherry red lips seemingly bathed with blood her eyes were covered in darkness which only allowed those amber eyes to stand out more as they glowed with the same fire inside which destroyed his home._

 _Beside her knelt his father._

 _Dressed in nothing but a simple white shirt and pants his hair was parted unveiling his forehead to his son. His blue eyes looked filled with defiance yet infinite patience but also defeat as he was there kneeling before the enemy._

 _Jaune took a moment to look downwards at himself._

 _He was dressed in a simple mixture of black, white, and red cloth which looked like it was changing every time he blinked or shifted his eyes a bit. It was rather strange and felt light as a feather yet heavy as a thousand chains against his skin as it constricted any hope of rebellion which came next._

 _He seemed to be perfectly balanced on the snow beneath him in such a way that he wasn't falling through. It was a different snowbank than the real one now that he truly looked around… This one was more of an ice field which stretched on forever in all directions and into darkness. The sky, unlike real life where it was filled with stars was filled with darkness and the occasional white lightning bolt which flew across the sky from Zeus' chariot._

 _Looking downwards once more into his hands he could see that there was a single object in his right, unburned and unmangled, totally flesh hand. It was a single gun with nine bullets in it._

 _Then the woman spoke._

" _Hello Jaune… Here we are yet again… Has your decision changed yet?"_

 _Attempting to speak felt like bubbling lava in his throat as he realized he was having a conversation with this monster of all things._

" _Have the stakes changed?"_

" _No."_

 _With that single word his mind was propelled to places never before seen by man to anything never before seen by god as it shot through every aspect of his mindscape. Arriving in his destination the woman turned from in front of him and stared once more into his soul._

" _Think about it… Your family could live all you'd have to do it join me…"_

 _The dilemma faced him once more like the barrel of a gun pressed against his forehead._

 _Standing behind her was a burning world. Vale, from the few times he had visited it, looked like it was in complete ruin. The same fire which had enveloped his home and his arms was roaring out the tops of destroyed buildings as people ran for cover from the diving Nevermore only to run straight into the path of Beowolves and Creeps alike._

 _It was a massacre._

 _Innocents by the dozen human or faunus it didn't matter were all slaughtered whether it be by fire, grimm or themselves as they clambered over each other in an attempt to get that much closer to false safety._

" _Don't you see? Whether you join me or not this will be the outcome… But if you join me you stand on the winning side, the side which spares your family, which spares the one you choose to love if you so please."_

 _His mind was once more catapulted through the space time continium of his mindscape until he was back on that snowbank._

" _Or you could choose to fight me in vain… By not joining me you're sentencing every one of those people to die… Now, what is your choice."_

 _Yet again he stood there in the snowbank strange clothing on himself as now, not only his father but his entire family stood there kneeling as though waiting for the firing squad to shoot them down into whatever came after death._

 _He could feel his body move yet he did not command it to until he stood there in front of his family the gun in his hands the nine bullets ready to spring forth while the woman watched from the sidelines her smirk having changed long ago._

" _Now, sentence them to die? Or give them the winning side by simply seeking me out, simply by giving in? Or would you like to struggle in vain against impossible odds just for that one percent chance of victory."_

 _Then time slowed as the bolt of white lightning streaked across the sky in slow motion. Snow began falling from non-existent clouds and his mind raced a mile a minute._

' _Now do I fight in vain for no chance of survival? Or do I give in and join them in doing exactly what I'd be trying to stop? The good of the many outweigh the few… But those few are my family are they not? But if they are guaranteed to die anyways, than wouldn't saving my family technically save lives? If the same amount of people were to die whether I join or not wouldn't that mean that me saving my family's lives would save nine lives? But is there hope?'_

 _That was one of the questions that rang out in his mind._

 _What would he do? The logical thing was to ensure his survival… His family's survival… It would save lives… But would working for the wrong side, would being remembered as a villain for any remainder of the world to look at and remember be worth it?_

 _He came to the same conclusion he had the night before and the night before that._

 _Time came back to it's regular flow the lightning bolt streaking across the sky it's pale light casting and then reflecting across the snow. His family knelt there in front of him hands on their heads shivering against the cold snow and each other as their breath came out in warm plumes of mist heading upwards towards the heavens._

 _He looked downwards and then to the gun at his hands taking one last look at their faces._

 _His father Nicholas Arc with his model like face and hair which in its blondness was similar to his own… Jaune only hoped that one day he would take in both his father's amazing good looks and his tactical mind… Not to mention his infinite patience and skill with kids… Than again, that wouldn't benefit him anytime soon._

 _His mother Jane Arc there kneeling still looking as beautiful as ever. He almost chuckled if not for the grim task he was faced with. Why did he have the feeling that this was causing her to be late for a meeting? Her silver eyes flicked upwards and met his and she knew what he was about to do yet made no move to stop him. She knew it was necessary._

 _His oldest three siblings Lavender, Violet and Amethyst looked at him. It's been awhile since he's seen them and he could see the stressful bags under their eyes from the constant exams and stress one must endure going through a hunter academy. The looked at him with their dyed purple hair which matched each of their names in shade. They simply closed their eyes accepting of what was to come._

 _His twin Amber was next her near orange yet still blond hair messy as though she had just gotten her windblown style literally windblown. It made him… Sad, in a word to think that they would never again fight about something stupid like how much smarter he was than her._

 _Opal, Azure and Marine, his remaining sisters simply looked like they didn't know what was going on. It was only fair that they didn't though, they were likely in shock. He was sure that if he was in the same situation he'd be in shock too._

 _He would never be pranked by Opal again and Azure would never try topping him again in academics… He wouldn't be getting any macaroni art from Marine anymore._

 _Tears slid down his face and dripped into the snow as he barely repressed a sob. He had a duty to Remnant. A duty to his family. A duty to himself._

 _So while it was completely illogical Jaune looked upwards and into the eyes of his nighttime tormentor and spoke two simple words which displayed his mood nicely._

" _Fuck you."_

 _Then he pulled the trigger and was greeted by a whole 'nother kind of darkness as a bullet tore upwards through his chin and into his one hundred and eighty I.Q brain._

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

He shot upwards and was greeted by the sight of his temporary residence.

His heart hammered in his chest and he felt totally slick with sweat as it ran down from under his hair. Breathing heavily he leaned forwards onto his legs and closed his eyes trying to regain his proper breathing pattern.

A minute or two later he straightened himself out and turned to the clock in the room with his heart still rushing blood by his ears to his brain. ' _Six in the morning… At least it didn't wake me up too early this time.'_

Jaune couldn't help but attempt to clench his fist as he thought of the nightmare. Things like that and plenty of other terrible things haunted his mindscape every time he had no purpose no task no thing to think of or to occupy his mind with.

It was agonizing.

His therapist said it was totally normal for him to be having these dreams… It was totally normal to be traumatized by something like that she had said… But was it alright? He had never felt like that before…

That terror that feeling of helplessness, that feeling that no matter how smart he was there was the same outcome either way… It was absolutely terrifying. He wasn't used to being terrified. He knew deep in his subconsciousness that he had nothing to be afraid of anymore, they had gotten permanent guards to keep watch which were screened very thoroughly and highly trained…

Yet still he felt afraid and helpless.

If it was supposed to be completely normal why was it so terrifying? Why was it that every time in that dream he had chosen the very same response time and time again? He knew what would come next, he knew that him doing what he did to himself in the dream wasn't logical…

Yet still he did it anyways. While it was completely normal to have PTSD, was it really normal to kill yourself in a dream just to defy someone? Just to give yourself a single moment of satisfaction before darkness enveloped you? Was it normal to think the way he did?

But there was no point thinking about it now. He had things to do today. Very important things.

Feeling his shirt stick to him with sweat he turned and moved his legs off the bed so that he slid off and into his pre-positioned slippers. Walking over to his door he decided he would go get some help and get dressed for the mass funerals which would be held today.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

The torrential downpour suited the somber mood well.

Dark grey clouds made up the sky casting a darkness onto the world before drenching it with rain. The chill winds which went by seeped through his layers and into his clothes while his black umbrella protected his hair from the rain. Not that it was actually stopping much moisture or cold.

It was three months after the incident and things have returned to, for the most part, some semblance of normality.

They had finally dug out all the bodies, generated computer images of the faces, matched them with what body was theirs and managed to get all the family together. All expenses paid for by the Arc family of course, a small gesture of apology or thanks to the families.

Looking forwards he could see the sea of dark umbrellas which matched everyone's clothing appropriately he wondered if that small gesture would be enough. But he knew it wouldn't be. Paying for flight and accommodations was nothing to their bank accounts and wouldn't help bring their dead family back.

But it would at least let them grieve.

The priests continued to babble on about whatever it was they babbled on about at funerals while the women weeped and the men pretended they weren't. He could feel his own cheeks moisten as they moved towards Colin's casket.

They were all closed to protect the bodies from the rain. It was for the best yet still left him with a sense that things weren't over yet despite the concrete fact that they were indeed over. Everything had ended… He had seen the bodies himself and once you see them you can't forget.

No matter how smart you are, bringing back the dead is impossible.

Attempting to raise his left hand to wipe away the tears after a few moments of unresponsiveness he gave up. No point in trying what he knew he couldn't do. It would be like trying to walk through lava while knowing you can't.

Turning away from the open graves and closed caskets he began walking back to the car paying his respects along the way. He had been reminded enough already. He was reminded every single day of their sacrifice for his family.

Was it because of a paycheck though? No. It's because they cared. Just like he did.

Besides, seeing them at a graveyard made his brains gears turn. Burying bodies was inefficient and used up more land than necessary. Cremation allowed for the moving of remains to be easier, saved much more space and allowed for the spreading of that person to anywhere you wish.

Once back at the car he stood there leaning his back against it, his umbrella still resting against his unresponsive hands. Resting on his shoulder the black shaft of the large umbrella was pulling the hooked handle upwards where it hooked under his wrist.

The concierge came around in a few moments and opened the limo door for him. Allowing for the umbrella to be taken from his hand he got into the limousine waiting for the door to close. Giving a nod to the concierge, he watched the door close and took one last time to look at the families.

It was just him here right now.

His mother was away at the company headquarters trying to get everything in order and would be there in an hours time. She would have more than enough time to mourn at the graves, the thirty seven eulogies would take a while followed by the lowering of the casket would allow her to be there on time.

His sisters hadn't known the servants as well as he had but they had come earlier to pay their respects. For some reason the entire family couldn't come and pay respects together but they all would eventually.

Even his father. It would just take time.

"Take me home."

With those simple words the car went on it's way to the temporary base of operations for the Arc family leaving the mourning people who've lost family members for someone else's life, _his_ life, behind to mourn their loss.

It wouldn't happen again. The dreams, the reality, both showed him one thing.

What had happened to him should never happen to to anyone again… He would get help, he would change himself, he would change into someone who fights negativity with smarts and positivity alike.

He would help people. No matter what barriers he must overcome.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

The Winchester manor was not unlike the Arc manor. It was actually very similar. Same outwards design if painted a different colour, that being cardinal red, and had roughly the same landscape. On top of a low hill in the middle of a clearing surrounded by pine trees.

The only huge difference was that, rather than a fountain in the front of their family crest, there was a small statue of it. The golden bird was illuminated by a few lights built into the pedestal it was on and would shine a light reminding the world who lives there.

Rather pompous really.

As the car pulled around the curved driveway to the part nearest the doors, he could see that several of the lights were still on and that the guards now posted twenty four seven outside the main doors were indeed on guard. A rare sight in some places.

The limo stopped and he shuffled his way from the right side of the car to the left side of the car before the door opened. Thanking the concierge with a curt nod he made his way up the steps getting a glance from the guards which he responded to by smiling.

New starts were difficult but he could make it work.

Dress shoes clacking against the wooden floor he looked upwards towards the first landing of the stairs. Seeing no one there he figured it was a prime time for him to exit to his temporary room so that he could change befo-

"Sup Jauney boy?"

Resisting the urge to strangle himself with his new hands were he able to use them, he turned to the right where the sound of the voice came from.

"Nothing much Cardin. Going to take a shower in my temporary room. Need me for anything?" He would have to be nice. After all he was the guest and should treat his temporary overlord or landlord cordially so as to not get kicked out and to be treated the same ba-

"Oh yeah? You need a _hand_ with that?" With that his step onto the next step of the stairs faltered.

Turning his head once more to the insufferable fourteen year old he, in a very practiced maneuver, flipped his hair in front of his eyes. "I'm sorry Cardin? What was that? I'm afraid I missed your low blow."

Scowling Cardin shook his head. "I know you heard me Arc. But that was no low blow… Then again, I guess it was… After all you won't be making any low blows _ever_."

Growling he ignored the low jab. He was correct, Jaune _wouldn't_ be making any low blows for a while but it was still rude to point it out.

"Listen here Cardin. I'm going to be blunt here. I despise you and think you're an asshole because of a multitude of reasons. A few just to list are the fact that you're a racist prick who thinks of servants as just servants, you're a complete asshole to someone who is technically categorized as disabled just to make yourself feel better about the fact that your life is still shit compared to theirs and you swing around a massive mace just so that you can pick up chicks and get respect."

"If you want respect you need to make yourself worth respecting…" Turning back to the stairs he made another step this time filled with confidence and fake pride. "And please, next time we have a battle of wits, make sure you don't show up _unarmed_ again."

Cardin snickered at Jaune's own pun against himself before grasping the entire context. Growling he made to walk over but then reconsidered and pulled back heading down one more hallway in this vastly new yet familiar house.

Continuing up the steps now feeling slightly better Jaune passed few people in the hallway before he made it to his temporary room. Funny though how while he was bad at talking to girls and most people in normal conversations about weather and the likes, he could insult people totally fine!

Then again part of that was due to the fact that he realized all words were empty unless there was an actual action accompanying them. Or like swears! While some people gasped when someone swore, to him they were just words used to get a point across.

Standing outside the door he took a step to the side and flipped his hair out of his face before widening his eyes and placing it in front of the retinal scanner. A flash of light which he had to keep his eye open through disappeared just as quickly as it appeared and a voice came out of the speaker.

" _Jaune Arc confirmed. Opening the door."_

Swinging open on silent hinges he took a step into the temporary room.

It was nothing special and not as big as his previous one but he didn't mind it all too much. There was a bed with clean white sheets along with fluffy pillows and a comforter on the right side of the room. Beside the bed was a single wooden nightstand which wasn't necessarily special but it had a drawer and a lamp so it had it's purpose.

Directly across from the door was a large window framed by some crimson red drapes which cascaded onto the dark wooden contrasting well against the thankfully white walls.

To the left of the entrance was a small dresser against the wall which had a small T.V on it positioned in such a way that it's possible to watch it from bed. Next to the dresser was a simple dark wooden door which would lead to the bathroom he had to call his own.

Walking over to his bed he sat down on the side swinging his hand so that it would hit the button built into it.

"Yes?"

"Please send up Jeoffry I'm about to take a shower."

"Yes right away Mr Arc."

"Thanks Janette."

"No problem Mr Arc."

"Oh please Janette, Mr Arc is my father. Please, call me Jaune."

"Whatever you say Jaune."

Moving his shoulder so his hand would fall off the button the intercom fell silent. That was the way he must do things for now. Not by himself but rather be pampered upon by servants and maids like he's some sort of national treasure or prince.

Which he basically was to both examples but that's not the point.

He hated being pampered. Sure, it was nice having people cook for you or clean for you if they did it right but sometimes there were things he'd like to do for himself. Like using the bathroom or showering, he was planning on getting a driver's license when he grew of age.

None of these were quite impossible but still out of reach.

Look at him. Making puns at his own expense yet again.

' _Funny though… I've been here for only three months and it seems like I'm closer to the staff than most of the Winchester family… Then again based on what I've seen so far it looks like Cardin simply views servants as just that. Servants. People who simply get paid to spend time with him and do things for him… Must not realize that they, while indeed being paid to be there, are open to friendship or at least a mutual trusting most of the time.'_

Shaken out of his thoughts by a knock at the door he got up from his bed and made his way over to the door pushing it open with his shoulder. It had automatically unlocked once the scanner detected his presence on the other side.

He was greeted by his new acquaintances.

Jeoffry stood at about six foot tall, had bleach blond hair and teeth which glimmered almost as though he used way, _way_ too much toothpaste. His icy blue eyes flicked about the room checking for any messes.

"Hello. I was told you needed help for the shower?"

"Yeah thanks."

Throughout thus they moved to the bathroom where Joffrey took of his shoes, socks, blazer, unbuttoned his shirt and unclipped his pants. No not in that way you dirty perverts! Jeez. Leaving Jaune after setting the timer on the shower for fifteen minutes he laid out a towel.

Now he stood in his boxers alone in the bathroom admiring himself in the mirror while the water steamed the frosted glass.

It was a very different Jaune Arc looking back at him from the mirror.

His hair slightly longer as he had to allowed it to grow out the past three months so now it was about to his eyebrow level. It had also gained a sort of shaggy appearance as he is now unable to comb his hair.

His face had otherwise remained basically the same. The burns in his scalp had healed thanks to his aura since they were just second degree and not all too bad.

Looking downwards though that was where the real changed were.

He was still a mostly scrawny or as he preferred 'lanky' thirteen year old who was around five feet tall. Taller than most people his age yet not quite tall enough to tower over anyone other than his little sisters and kids. His chest wasn't toned or lean but he wasn't chubby and in decent shape.

All in all, if Jaune had to take a guess, he would say that he could've grown up to be a very attractive man.

But what he saw attached to his shoulders was a different story.

Had he learned to accept? How could he not. They were essential.

Had he learned to forgive? Not quite but burning hot anger wasn't the best when one tries to remain a calm mind.

Had he learned to forget? Hell no. One with a photographic memory does not simply 'forget'. Even after all that trauma from that night he wouldn't forget. Simply wasn't how he worked.

Attached to each shoulder at the length of the normal human arms, rather than there being soft slightly muscled human skin which was the correct level of paleness for one that doesn't go outdoors once, there was a pair of black faceted arms.

Faceted like the edges of a cut diamond the pattern went down from top to bottom, from the shoulder to his fingertips. Black carbon fiber arms faceted reflected dully in the light. Were they all that bad looking? No. They were pretty damn cool in his opinion.

If only he could move them.

Where they attached to his shoulders there was also a receiver. A chip was implanted into his brain, specifically the visual cortex and parietal lobe. Technically in enough time and enough getting used to he would be able to move them easily.

His brain and eyes would process where his arms are, he would will them to move, and they would move. He should technically be able to feel once it totally syncs with him as well. There were tiny receptors in the outer shell which would allow for him to feel things.

Soft, hard, the basics. Would he have a hard time being able to tell a light switch from someone's nose in the dark? No of course not that would be ridiculous. But would he be able to stick his hand into a dark box and just feel around and know what it was? Not quite.

So were the arms all that bad? Not really. If anything they just allowed for more adaptability and function than normal arms! He was already planning a version with gadgets built in in fact! Built already out of complicated machinery he knew he would comprehend in a few years by some of the top researchers from 'Arc Labs' The only problem was that they took some time to get used to.

The worst part though was where the skin grafts had done a good job yet hadn't quite fixed all the tissue.

Around where his arms meet his shoulders there was scarring from the third degree were in no specific pattern and just kind of sprawled over a small amount of his shoulders and chest with his right arm being a slightly worse condition than the left.

The burns from where that woman had stopped him from attacking were there as a reminder. A grimm reminder if any. Look at him making jokes about his situation. Goes to show what a life or death experience can do to you.

The super heated fire had burned through the tissue and destroyed the muscles along with the nerve endings which was terrible and basically crippled his arms anyways. But the cold had made it even worse. Against all odds frostbite was creeping up his fingers when he was found and it just ruined his arms.

This they had to be amputated once he was airlifted to the hospital.

So that's the story of how they found him. They saw what they said was a 'Light from heaven' illuminating him like some sort of 'saint' against the snow. They rappelled out of one of the Bullheads and found him there kneeling on the ground head arching up towards the sky light pouring out of his eyes while pus and blood dried or froze against his arms.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when the edges of the mirror began to fog up.

Moving his leg around so that his boxers would catch against his limp arm he then shuffled out of his boxers in a semi-awkward way. Turning and pushing the door open with one of his metal shoulders he stepped under the hot water letting it pour over his back and into his hair.

Since spreading soap around he waited for the three hundred and sixty degree jets to kick in as they coated everything below his neck in soap and moisturizers to all kinds of scar removing concoctions which were slowly, slowly working on his scars to make them slightly better looking.

The soaps stopped being ejected out and hot yet not boiling water came out rinsing him off. Then the top of the shower turned on again and wet his hair before a precautionary tone came from the built in AI.

" _Close your eyes sir."_

Closing his eyes he allowed his hair to be sprayed with shampoo and rinsed before conditioner was added. Rinse and repeat. Literally.

Shower done he stepped out and back onto the non-slip mat so that he wouldn't fall and kill himself right after a shower. Feeling better he shimmied up to the wall and positioned himself so that the rope would fall onto his shoulders.

Now came the hard part. Getting dressed with Jeoffry without making things awkward.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Standing outside his psychiatrist's door was always a challenge in and of itself.

Did he feel sound of mind? Yes. Then again things always felt that way. Didn't they for everybody? Everyone always is saying things like 'I'm fine.' or 'I'll be fine.' when they're not because it's almost like admitting you're not okay is like admitting defeat.

Was it? No.

Jaune was fully aware that acknowledging you have a problem is the first step to fixing it.

Was the best thing to do just ignoring the problem? No. Was it to take as many anti-depressants as physically possible before it became unhealthy? Goodness no! Was it to have someone else fix it for you? Not if it isn't a trained professional or someone who knows you totally in or out.

The first step is always _knowing_ that you've got a problem and then admitting that fact to yourself. Would you be comfortable with it? No of course not. People rarely are okay with it when they realize that there's something wrong with them.

Which is why, despite him feeling fine, he realized he wasn't. Those nightmares, his new fears, his increased social anxiety with new people? Those were all new, well except the social anxiety but he was slowly getting over that one! Kind of…

That's why the second step is telling someone. Anyone. Someone so that if you fall down that rabbit hole and are never clawing your way back up someone knows what's going on and who to contact.

It's truly a shame how T.V shows and movies along with books and things can misinform on things like that.

After giving him a curt nod Jeoffry stepped forwards pressing the buzzer and stepping forwards once the "Come in." had come from inside. Opening the door for him Jaune gave him a thankful little smile as gratitude before stepping in.

It wasn't a special office. Really it was quite plain.

A wall which was entirely a window overlooking the inner courtyard of the institution was across from the simple grey door. There was a grey leather chair beside a small white table to the side.

On the small table there was a single projector built into the surface so that one could put in their scroll and project it into the air whether to show information or do work. To the left of that projector there was a white rectangular flower pot containing a single purple orchid which was so nice looking it was basically fake.

There was also some sort of abstract oil painting on the wall in various colours which looked like a child was simply trying out colours and made a whole bunch of lines which crossed over each other. Really it just looked like a large mess.

Placed across the room directly across from the painting was a grey lounge chair one would expect in your usual psychiatrist's office from T.V or a movie.

Lights dimming slightly as he entered to his pre-chosen preset the woman sitting in the grey chair made a wide, palms up gesture to the lounge chair. "Hello again Jaune. Please, take a seat."

Noticing from her hand gesture that she had intended to show that she was both open and unarmed he nearly smirked to himself. While he memorized the book for physical gestures before coming here the first time it was always something to see how much people actually made them.

The grey haired woman sitting in the chair didn't look all that old. She was probably in her mid fifties if he had to guess. Her grey hair was pulled back into a ponytail which reached the small of her back.

She had high cheekbones and must've been quite beautiful when younger and it was still there although the beauty has shifted now more from 'hot' to 'refined' or 'elegant'. Her hazel eyes sparkled with a warmth which could've certainly fooled him if it was fake.

Dressed rather plainly in just a grey woolen sweater and some white jeans she looked rather plain. Good. He preferred not having anything to distracting when he must delve deep within himself.

"So Jaune. Let's start off today with some small talk shall we?"

"No thank you Mrs. Escala. We pay you to help me with my mental problems. While I'm sure it's written and proven somewhere that small talk is good for a patient, I'd rather get to business today."

Nodding her head back and forth she smiled and accepted that. He had never felt the need to engage in small talk before and didn't feel the need to do so now. "Okay then Jaune. First things first… Your nightmares. Has the result changed? Has your choice changed?"

Closing his eyes and pressing himself into the seat further. "They've gotten better. They've begun recurring four times a week rather than five times. But I still don't have a choice when I'm in there… It's like I'm a puppet being forced to think and come to a certain conclusion, or a watcher watching myself think of what I'll do next…"

He took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "I'm hoping I can be done with them already."

"These things take time… But you're making good progress. Any symptoms or irrational fear popped up which seemed like they could've been caused by the accident?"

"Well for starters..."

With that he began the bi-monthly process of spilling his inner fears, thoughts, dreams and feelings to someone paid to listen. But even if they were being paid to listen, it was better than no one listening at all.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

He paced through the hospital's walls with purpose behind each step. People parted before him like water parting around an immovable rock in its path. Making his way down the hallway he smiled a little bit to himself.

Sadly, once more, the rest of his family wouldn't be here with him but that was fine.

Turning down the hallway which would lead to wing B of the hospital he continued passing by nurses and doctors as they continued rushing about like ants in their hill all doing their own specific job at their own, pre-chosen time.

It was nice to see the machine like state which was probably working well for the hospital.

Continuing onwards he came to his father's room. Two hundred and twenty one B, wing B. Pushing the slightly ajar door open with the tip of his foot the door was opened to show that nobody else was in there but his father.

It was a fairly simple room, all white walls white ceiling and white floor tiles… It was all white. There were white curtains and white sheets which went along with white pillows. Everything was kept absolutely spotless.

That was a good thing.

Stepping inwards he turned to the left and took a seat in one of the two comfy chairs facing the bed. They were near the window to the left of the bed and were covered in some of the natural light which wasn't all that noticeable against the artificial light of the white light bulb.

In the middle of the room was a large hospital bed which had an IV beside it on the right and a desk with pill bottles on top and more bags of whatever it was they were pumping into his system.

Resting in the stark white bed was his father.

If you had placed him in any regular bed it would simply look like he was peacefully napping… That wasn't the case. After Jaune had attracted the notice of the Bullheads or possibly before, the timeline was still fuzzy, a battle had obviously ensued leaving behind a very destroyed and burnt as well as molded and shifted dining room.

His father was found mainly fine with burns underneath where metal touched his skin as some had melted and gotten stuck but was thankfully stopped from combining all the way thanks to his aura… But that was only the normal part.

His father's aura had stopped working. Or rather, his semblance had, like his mind been shut off.

That's right. His father was now in a coma. It seems as though there was a previously unheard of grimm parasite had burrowed into his spleen and taken up residence. There was very little known about that specific branch of grimm other than the fact that they existed and some vague description of what it looked like.

People who had wanted a real description of it would be scrambling at the opportunity if not for the Arc interference.

From what they had gleaned, to make itself more effective the parasite actually joins the first person or living things it encounters. The second person or living thing it encounters gets attacked. It burrows into the spleen unleashing black grimm tendrils which curled around and through the gaps anywhere it could find in the body without actually causing damage.

At the same time though, it caused terrible, _terrible_ damage.

One it's tendrils were extended it unleashed a concoction of chemicals into the bloodstream which would induce a coma in the patient. Or rather, induced a coma in the patient by draining it's aura. So, slowly, ever so slowly, the parasite was draining his father's aura and taking it to… Wherever it was a grimm would take that to or wherever it would need it.

It was terrible.

What seemed even more terrible was what they had found under deeper analysis.

The grimm parasite was being controlled rather an acting under it's own free will. An anomaly never before seen in the parasite branch of grimm. It was scary just the idea that someone could control such a thing…

Yet at the same time he felt proud, not that his father had gotten hurt because of him, and not because of how but rather that his father had fought that hard.

From the state they had found the room in it was obvious an epic and amazing battle had taken place there. There were scorch marks everywhere while his dad had come out with no real burns on his person, his father had used his matter state changing semblance so parts of the floor had been turned to liquid and gas before solidifying again creating strange shapes… Something epic had happened!

To force the very powerful assailant who, now that he thought about it could control heat energy, to the point where it seems they would have to use their trump card, assuming that's what the parasite was, just made him shine even brighter in his eyes!

It's nice.

Looking upwards at his comatose father though he could feel anger. Anger at the person who haunted his dreamworld, anger at them for burning his home, taking away a father from his family, taking away people from their families…

It couldn't be allowed to happen again. It _wouldn't_ happen again.

Was he naive? Possibly. He knew very well that solving every problem couldn't be solved by intellect or by one more hunter joining the good fight… He knew he couldn't say it _wouldn't_ happen again since it would likely happen again…

But still, if there was a way he could save people like himself, like his now dead friends and servants without dying himself, he would do it. If he could do it and live he would save them. But only if he could save them and live, no other way…

After all he was more useful alive than dead.

Getting up after taking one more look at his father Jaune exited the room, hooking his foot around the door as he did so that he could close it behind himself.

Back in the hallway he began walking to the physiotherapy wing so that he could finally figure out how to use these damn arms.

Looking downwards slightly so that they were in his peripheral vision, he took another out of many looks at the black faceted arms. ' _Why are they so hard to control? Why can't I control them yet? Damn it! I should be able to by now… I mastered chess in a month, Civilization XXX in a few games, and was learning the piano at a wonderful rate before the incident… Why is using something that's supposed to become second nature to me so hard?!'_

Weaving in and around people picking up their conversations as he passed he quickly managed to pick up on some gossip from the varying and disjointed yet perfectly combined stories…

' _Hmmm. Seems like Becky is sleeping around again with Dave and Linda is not okay with that.'_ Inside his head he did that thing that some people do where they snap to emphasize words while at the same time saying that last bit as easily as possible in his mind.

There was no real point to him doing that other than to practice his information sweeping over and retainment but it was useful nonetheless. Being able to absorb information on the fly for use in the future is a very valuable skill that a surprisingly low amount of people were actually good at.

Then again, most people didn't even consider that a skill so…

Finally arriving at the physiotherapy section of the hospital he took a moment to look around at anybody walking in and out. Through the clear glass doors he could see the round tables, the helpers, the volunteers, fellow amputees, people who were recovering from any other thing inhibiting their movements or abilities.

It was amazing.

To think that just a few hundred years ago people who were amputees or too sick to do anything to benefit the tribe were left behind… Nowadays, it was almost normal to see someone missing a limb or a finger or having a incurable disease only to have it cured in a few years just before they expire.

It was amazing because despite how selfish everyone naturally is, most people would still help the fellow human now a day. It was like this mythical country called ' _Canada'_ he had read about once.

But then again they rode polar bears and showered in maple syrup so maybe that comparison was inaccurate…

Walking forwards he quickly offered thanks once again to whoever invented the door without a handle and pushed his way in so that he was now standing in the small reception area.

"Arc at four o'clock for James?"

Taking a glance at the clock the bespectacled ginger haired woman turned back to her computer (Obviously not realizing like he had that she could've simply looked to the bottom right of the screen to see the time.) and clicking a few buttons.

"Right on time Jaune. He's waiting for you at table seven."

"Thanks."

Making his way around the people in there. Some were walking with assistance of the bars, a few kids were doing chopsticks on the piano to test mangled or destroyed fingers, there was this one disheveled man with a beard yelling at someone asking if they've ever seen a case of hands that bad before the man answered 'Yes, he fixed them with faith.' or something along those lines.

Chucking to himself he took a seat at table seven. Positioned near the windows and on the second floor of the hospital it was a regular white plastic and metal table which was round and surrounded by four white chairs. On top of the table was the number seven printed onto a cardstock label.

Waiting for James to get there took less than a two minutes as he arrived one hundred and six seconds after Jaune had sat down here.

"Hello again Jaune! Made any progress on your own yet?"

Sighing Jaune leant forwards a bit before leaning back again and shuffling his chair closer to the table. James was nice, that was true, but he was unusually peppy and seemed like the kind of guy which would have an exclamation point coming after every one of his lines were he in a book.

He was about six foot, blonde, plain faced yet reasonable handsome at the same time. His girlfriend, or boyfriend, whatever he prefers is alright with Jaune of course, must find him rather attractive.

"No… I've kept trying but I just can't feel it you know? You say to envision it simply like my own arm as if it was still attached but that's just not working… Any more advice?"

Taking a moment to think James went quiet as he lifted both of Jaune's arms onto the table leaving them there with a dull barely noticeable thunk. Finishing up he walked over beside Jaune and sat into a chair backwards so that the back of the chair was facing the table.

"Have you tried considering _why_ you want your arms to move? Have you tried wondering _why_ you _need_ your arms to move?"

"Of cour-"

"I'm not done! Focus not on moving your arms but on what you're going to do with them… What you're going to use them for… Why you'd use them. Make it so that rather than focusing on your arms your arms are moving on instinct. I think that would work better in your case…"

"Thanks." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Think of why? That sounded so corny it couldn't possibly be true… But it could be technically couldn't it? The results should be immediate too since that was the way the arm was designed…

Was there any harm in trying? No.

Closing himself off from the world Jaune closed his eyes and focused on what he could feel. He could feel the nerves, not individually but as a whole, at the end of where his arms had been amputated. He could feel the skin simply being there if he really tried.

The metal pressed against his skin feeling cold and cool while also smooth and warm as it fit perfectly against what remained of his arms. A seemingly perfect mix of metal and flesh, machine and man. A real deus ex machina if you will.

Heh, that could be his nickname one day. Deus Ex Machina… Sounds cool in his head.

Focusing once more and banishing that stray thought he focused. Why would he need to move his arms? Why?

' _Why will I need to move my arms? To help people… What would I use my arms for? To kill, protect, move, be independant, save, destroy, create, live…'_ Images flashed through his mind of before… Him eating soup using a spoon by himself, putting on clothes, playing the few video games he actually liked, push ups which were mandatory in gym class, so many other things alike crashed through him.

' _Why will I help? Because of my father, people like the Arcs and their servants who have had a home stripped away along with their minds and lives… Because I don't want anyone to go through what I went through.'_ He bit his lip but couldn't feel anything.

' _Why!? Why won't it work?! All I want is to help people now work you fucking stupid arms!'_

Jaune clenched his fist and pounded the table in frustration before standing up and flailing his hands into the air. "WHY WONT IT WORK?!"

James sat there in stunned silence as his patient got up from the table and stormed away arms at his sides marching away angrily almost as if having a temper tantrum. Which was understandable… Not having working arms was tough, though wouldn't that problem be over now?

He walked out of the room pushing the door open and then stopping leaning forwards against a wall and catching his breath. ' _Why won't my hands fucking work!'_

But then he realized something. He was leaning forwards yet neither his chest nor his forehead was touching the wall he was currently leaning forwards against. ' _Holy shit!'_

Looking downwards he could see that he wasn't falling or touching the wall with his forehead because he didn't have to any more. By muscle memory he had put out his arms to catch himself when leaning forwards.

Which was why his black mechanical arms were supporting him as he leaned.

Leaning backwards in shocked silence he almost couldn't believe it. His arms were working again! His arms were his own. To test them out he let them drop then, quickly peeking around to make sure nobody was watching, tried to scratch his butt.

It worked! His arm felt just like it had before! It felt like it was all working properly and like a real human arm! It was the exact same yet different! He could feel the soft fabric of his suit's pants as his metal fingers traced up the surface. Digging in slightly he nearly moaned in an inappropriate way at how good it felt to finally scratch his but after three months of being deprived!

Turning around he sat down with his back against the wall. Raising his arms above his knees he raised them to chest height then let them drop. He did it again and again and again until he got sick of that one motion.

He saw a passing nurse and winked at her and shot her a finger gun. She rolled her eyes probably assuming he was one of those patients on so many drugs they can barely remember their name.

He wiggled his fingers feeling the full range of motion he had from before in them and he made a 'Radical' sign with his fingers that one would expect from a surfboarder before clenching into a tight fist. Sneakily he also checked out his middle finger and it all worked fine!

In fact it worked better than fine!

Twisting his arms so that they would be above his head he clenched onto each other arm feeling the cool metal against his other, cool metal finger tips. It was a strange sensation but almost kind of pleasant.

Picking himself off the floor without help he continued practicing everyday motions before he went to open the door and felt something slightly strange about his wrist. While it was twisting totally normally it was also twisting in a _strange_ way.

Not bad but _strange_. Making the same action from before to recreate that feeling he did so and held that position.

' _What happens if I twist just a bit further?'_

He tried and his wrist did a whole three sixty. Turning around in a full circle his thumbs and fingers on both hands now began spinning also while his wrists twisted. It was freaking sick. It was also amazing!

With a little extra effort he assumed it would only be a matter of time until he could do that with his elbows too! Maybe his shoulders but that would just be ridiculous.

Returning to the room Jaune said goodbye to James, cancelled all his next appointments and said goodbye to some of the people he'd grown accustomed to in that center over the past three months.

Jaune knew he wouldn't be coming back to that wing of the hospital anytime soon.

Leaving that section he stepped into the elevator and pressed the buttons himself feeling pride. No more would he use the stairs! No longer would someone press the buttons for him or before him! It was now a luxury to do so and shall be treated as such!

Making his way out the lobby he continued fiddling with his hands in a way similar to someone from some show he's watched this one time and made his way to the limo. If the chauffeur noticed he didn't comment.

It was time to enact phase two of his amazing plan!~

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"...So you're telling me that you're sorry for calling my stupid, will allow me to be your sister's boyfriend as long as _she_ breaks up with _me_ and will ensure I get a top spot in Beacon as well as letting me beat the shit outta you?" Cardin nearly scoffed at the idea. Why Jaune was offering all this? It was all for the greater good.

"That would be the gist of it yeah… I mean, I'd have to get what I'd wanted too but-" Jaune was cut off forcibly by the grinning previous tormentor.

"Jaune… I've got a feeling like by the end of this plan of yours we're going to be great friends." He grinned some more taking Jaune into a headlock. Noogy-ing him Cardin watched as Jaune broke out with his now working arms. Damn, those things weren't real but they had some serious muscle!

"W-well maybe not friends but maybe a-acquaintances?"

"Dude, just refer to us as friends got it?"

Sighing in defeat Jaune decided to give in. Besides having friends his age who, while not as smart as him, were similar in gender and interests mainly being in women and becoming hunters was probably good for him.

What has he just done you may be asking?

He had just arranged for himself to have training, a rival to push himself to new heights and for himself to be launched into a future which would hopefully help people.

He would receive the same training that Cardin's been receiving for the past two years for the next four of his life except multiplied by three. He had missed out on two years of training time! While Cardin did four hours a day, Jaune would do twelve.

Cardio, yoga, tai chi, boxing, weights, kickboxing, running! His schedule would leave him tired as dirt at the end of every day for a long while! But those were only some physical things to build muscle mass and unarmed skill!

There was mental aura training and practice! Semblance and aura control to funneling to constructs every subject imaginable. Would it take long into his post Beacon career to master everything!? Of course. These thing were impossible to learn in four years even for him! But would he get the basics down? Hell yeah he would!

Then there would be swordplay and marksmanship as well as tactics and strategy. Cardin's schedule would also have an extra hour added on for strategy and tactics but otherwise he would continue as normal unless he feels like training further.

Which was why from now on they would be rivals up until Beacon.

It's proven that with a partner to egg you on or a rival who keeps topping you you can get better than most people! To have someone push you to your limit continuously until you beat them and they beat you back it raised everything!

It would be great.

He knew he would be prepared for Beacon in four and a half years time. Would it be grueling? Very. Would it leave him bloody bruised and hurt in more places than he could name? Yes. But would he care? Technically probably but that's not the point!

He would finally help people! He would make a friend along the way! Probably! Things are going to be great.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 _That night the dream was different._

 _He was thrown into the snowbank but this time rather than all flesh he was flesh and machine, his arms being some sort of white metal he couldn't name. He was dressed in the usual suit he wore in real life rather than the changing colour clothing he wore before when he was in here._

 _He seemed to be perfectly balanced on the snow beneath him in such a way that he wasn't falling through. It was a different snowbank than the real one now that he truly looked around… This one was more of an ice field which stretched on forever in all directions and into darkness. The sky, unlike real life where it was filled with stars was filled with darkness and the occasional white lightning bolt which flew across the sky from Zeus' chariot._

 _Looking downwards once more into his hands he could see that there was a single object in his right black metal hand. It was a single gun with nine bullets in it._

 _Then the woman spoke._

" _Hello Jaune… Here we are yet again… Has your decision changed yet?"_

" _Allow this to be your answer."_

 _With that all nine rounds loaded into the gun were unloaded into the torso of a fiery woman with a fiery attitude which matched her powers of destruction._

 _His family was freed of his bonds and he was thrown once more through his dreamscape to some other place and time. Now sitting on a park bench he could see some people sitting beside him with what he could tell was smiles while he couldn't tell the faces as they were blurred out._

 _They ranged from male to female and the smiles they wore were infectious. He could feel himself smiling like an idiot now but it had never felt so good._

 _So for the first time in three months, Jaune had the first dream where he was happy again._

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** That was great to write. It's also good to know that this has been very well received! A good number of old a new reviewers showed up and I can only hope they review this chapter as well since reviews are always appreciated.

Next chapter we've got a large timeskip. Saying it now. Don't be surprised. We will have Jaune at Beacon (With some small scenes beforehand.) and then initiation. Which will be interesting. It will be a whole new initiation. Trust me! I mean really, it'll be different to anything you've ever read before initiation wise. It will be fucking (Pardon my french?) amazing! I mean seriously!

Amazing.

Please, leave a review telling me what you liked didn't like, feel free to ask questions and have a wonderful day! See you!~

(Also, try guessing who Jaune's partner will be. First person to get it gets a shout out? Sure, how about that.)

 **Review Responses:**

 **Thedarkness1996:** Thanks! I've tried to make the remake as epic as possible. I can only hope I don't disappoint from now on… Oh boy why did I have to set the bar so high… The pressure!

 **Flaming Author 22:** Good to know you're looking forwards to more… Although it would be weird if you weren't looking forwards to more considering the fact that you're a Beta for this story.

 **Dracohalo117:** Thanks! I'll try keeping up the good work. But then again, maybe not. Being consistently good is harder than most people think! Yet still I'll try… I'll try.

 **Rwby1989:** Thanks! I was hoping to make the rewrites start as amazing as possible.

 **xXgabeXx:** It's updated every Friday at around six P.M. Also, Cinder won't die… At least for a long, long time. Or will she die very soon?! Find out next time on Jaune Arc: Augmented! (You won't actually find out next time.)

 **Guest:** Yes, Pyrrha will be with Jaune in this one. I'm just trying to appeal more to the Ruby, Yang, and Blake with Jaune people. Don't worry, Pyrrha will be with Jaune in this one as well.

 **Plasma Dragon 312:** This is not a replacement for Jaune Arc genius. This is a remake of 'Jaune Arc: The Tinkerer' in which Jaune will still be a genius. It's going to be the same yet different.

 **Gravenimage:** Thanks! Not much else to say…

It's just another primate: Think of Cinder being the antagonist not as the cliche: main villain shows up only to get rekt later in the story. Think of her as the first boss of many. The update schedule is every Friday.

 **BadHum3r:** Yes this'll have ties to 'Deus Ex Machina'... Sexy, sexy ties. Also, it's in an easter egg in this chapter. Fairly noticeable.

 **Shashenka:** No. Why do you come and make terrible (wonderful) puns! Get out of here! (Never leave.) Yes, the review response above yours. It'll have sexy, sexy ties.

 **Frank Horrigan:** This ladies and gentlemen is one of the most intense people I've ever spoken to. Enough said.

 **Desdelor97:** Good to see you yet again! Also congratulations, I've already said but you're the first person to notice the 'Loveless' Easter egg which is very very obscure in last chapter.

 **Uchiha Rai:** Oh god! Now I'm anticipating what will happen next! Damn it self doubt!

 **geohvod:** Thanks!

 **Jack905:** Thanks! I feel so bad writing just one word responses but there isn't much to say…

 **Anubis the shadow:** This won't be a 'Jaune = Batman' story trust me! Things will be much more RWBY like later.

 **Gusbot3000:** Thanks mate! I will try keeping the good work up.

 **NinjaFang1331:** Thanks!

 **1st Dragon King:** Funnily enough this chapter was around two thousand more words than I expected. Don't expect me to keep it up. It's so hard! I will continue calling this a rewrite sorry, same premise, different plot… It will forever feel like it's the spiritual successor of the first edition and story I made on this site.

 **Flametusk:** Thank you! Also, yeah… I wanted something that made more sense than the slightly random bombing which happened in 'The Tinkerer'. Surely I would've come up with an explanation but this is preferable…

 **lordofthenight97:** Sorry, but I will be giving Jaune mecha-shift weapons. For sure one hundred percent. I destroyed Crocea Mors so that he wouldn't have to reject it from being offered to him and so that he could have freedom. Sorry but that's what I wanted to do. Also, to show that even if something is dubbed 'unbreakable' all things can be broken. (Kind of.)


	3. Chapter 1

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" _ **Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. "**_

 _ **-Albert Einstein**_

 **Note:** We're back! Hello ladies and gentlemen for the first real chapter of 'Jaune Arc: Augmented'. Since the first two were the prologue chapters this is indeed technically the first chapter of the story! Thanks to all of you new and returning, I only hope I don't disappoint. Oh jeez, the pressure!

(Seeing as a lot of people seem to be dumping shite on me because of the katana, I'd just like to say that yes, it's being removed later on in the story, and was always planned to be removed. Please don't leave a story for something as simple as a katana, since that's just dumb.)

But uh… Yeah. Here we go. By the way, if this chapter seems brighter or more humorous compared to the previous ones don't worry. It was meant to be that way. This is the way most of them shall be. But trust me, they won't be quite as comedy focused as the old version. Anyways!~

Now enter, the first true chapter of… Jaune Arc: Augmented!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter I**

* * *

He stood there panting and his chest heaved upwards and downwards as he scanned the field. Jaune was drenched with sweat, hair plastered to his skull in it's purposeful shaggy appearance. As his movement slowed and he stood there slowly sinking an inch into the mud he could feel his muscles burning from the incredible strain being put upon them mere moments before.

Closing his eyes for the time period of around three blinks he found that little nozzle, that small key, that small station in his mind where he adjusted his aura outflow so that slightly more flowed into his legs easing the strain. Muscles repaired themselves and hardened, cells began regenerating the scabs on his knees.

He combed through the grass field in front of him once more. The grass was about chest height which was no small feat considering he now stood at a good six foot one. The sun was scorching hot down upon him as it was cast down unburdened by any clouds which could've been in its path.

It was the perfect day for a fight. Which, was why he was out here, at nine in the morning already drenched in sweat.

Clearing his throat Jaune twisted his right hand as it was holding his sword several times. "You know you could just stop hiding like a coward Cardin… You know I hate that."

He knew that some sort of retort would come back to him. It was predictable.

"I know you hate that. I also know all your tricks so don't even try Jauney boy." Cardin replied from his… Left? Wise choice on his part. But now that he was focussing on that particular part rather than the birds as they chirped in the forest around the field, he could tell that Cardin was moving.

"Yet still, you give me your location by talking."

Turning directly behind him Jaune swung to his right raising his blade in a horizontal slash as he did so. Slicing down the grass increased his vision until he could just barely see the ginger hair above the grass.

Knowing he was found Cardin rushed out of the grass and into him with a war cry.

Backpedalling Jaune deflected a mace before launching forwards and past his opponent holding his sword in a reverse grip for a moment attempting to slice his armour straps. Twisting to the right Cardin continued with his momentum from the deflected swing and Jaune slid onto his knees through the mud as it went over his head.

Not bothering to turn back Jaune took off running in that particular direction.

Feeling as the grass in front of him went up his nose and into his face while tickling his bare shoulders he continued running forwards all the while hearing Cardin loping behind him.

Bursting out of the grass with a short hop he arrived on firmer more stable ground before turning and backpedalling just in time to see Cardin follow him out.

Now that he was the appropriate twenty paces away from his opponent he looked once more at the grassless part of the field in which they'd started. Lower, basically non existent grass was here as it was all dry and lifeless. A by product of their spars he was sure.

Cardin stood there shirtless and wearing nothing but a pair of black shorts and shoes just like Jaune. He was heaving yet refusing to give up as he hefted his practice mace over his shoulder with ease. It was crazy how strong they were compared to normal people.

"Give it up Jaune! You've only got half aura left!"

He scoffed. "Oh yeah? Well, last time I checked, you've only got sixty left… Considering one percent for me is three percent for you, I think I'm good thanks." Jaune said while beginning to circle.

He didn't have his shield today meaning he was using his speed style. It also meant there was extra unpredictability for his strikes and fighting. It would be _fun_. Jaune could feel a savage grin lighting up his face.

"Now, you going to stop blabbing your mouth and attack?"

"I know you're trying to bait me."

"Yet still, you respond."

"Is there a reaso-"

"Just fucking kill each other already this is boring as hell!" Their verbal duel of wits came to an abrupt end and they both lowered their weapons to glare at the culprit.

There on a fallen down log sat Russel, Sky and Dove but it was obviously Russel who made the comment. They nearly flinched from the combined glaring of both Jaune and Cardin but kind of held their ground. They also, technically, made a good point. In a real fight there would be no banter like this.

Dashing forwards while Cardin was still staring down Russel he threw his practice blade from his right hand to his left. His opponent noticed and lunged forwards at the same time knee raised to go for his own throat.

Turning he moved his right arm feeling the mechanical parts whirl to life constantly. He managed to grab onto his leg and twist it out of the way while flipping over and managing a slice on Cardin's outstretched ankle.

It was barely a hit but hey, a hit is still a hit. Death by a thousand cuts _is_ a thing after all.

Turning back around for a wide horizontal swing which caught Jaune unawares he dropped the sword to reduce weight and caught the mace on both arms. Flying backwards into the grass once more he winced as he looked at the slightly crumpled metal of his arms. Skidding against the ground he charged forwards sliding against the upcoming horizontal swing and reaching his blade.

Picking it up and spinning his right wrist around fully he leapt upwards coming down with an axe kick onto the hastily used handle of the mace as it was used to block. Pushing off the made he continued into the air before allowing his grip to loosen.

His sword, now unheld by his hand, continued on it's upwards momentum while he stopped and it slipped into a way where his metal hand held it by the blade. Chucking it downwards like a spear he fell watching as Cardin jumped backwards to avoid it.

Landing he ducked under a jab and grabbed his sword from where it had impaled itself in the ground before jumping for a roundhouse kick.

Feeling that his leg was then grabbed made him realize that it was probably a mistake.

His grip slackened causing his sword to go twirling into the brush. Having just enough time in that brief, half second interval, he concentrated aura into protecting his spine before he was rudely thrown into the ground causing a minor outline of his body to be forced into the dirt.

Seeing the coming vertical swing coming at him he raised his arms to his chest and rolled to the left before pushing his arms like a push up and rolling to his feet.

Now that his weapon was totally gone it was unlikely he'd win unless he kind of-maybe-just a little bit-sorta bent the rules. But for the record, he wasn't _breaking_ the rules! Just _bending_ them.

Charging forwards he attempted an uppercut which was blocked before the mace was swung back at him. Ducking under it he delivered a side jab to the liver before moving under his mace's handle and heabutting Cardin in the chin.

Feeling him stumble back as once hand instinctively went to cup his chin he continued forwards. Jumping so that force built up in his knee he drove it into the balls of his enemy and could see out the corner of his eye that the boys watching just winced in sync.

Cardin doubled over and Jaune pushed him away watching as he stumbled back holding onto the -according to Cardin- very large Winchester family jewels so to speak.

Replaying the scene of his sword being lost in his mind while in slow motion he calculated a probably trajectory before diving into a roll as he disappeared into the grass. ' _The metaphorical shoe's on the other foot now isn't it?'_

Finding his sword about four feet off his calculations he disregarded it. Not the time to be focussing on his lack of ability for math while rolling into grass!

Picking it up he sunk into a crouch before circling where he still assumed Cardin to be. As he did so he took a quick moment to feel how much aura he had and noticed he had about…. Forty percent left. Extending his own aura into the atmosphere while sacrificing another half percent, he could feel Cardin's sitting at about forty as well. Yet still, forty for Jaune was one hundred and twenty for Cardin…

Circling so that he'd be right behind the rest of their little group of amigos, Jaune slowly and carefully parted the grass taking a peek through. ' _All right… He's there sti- Wow, I may have hit him a bit too hard there… Oh wel-Wait are those tears!? Jeez, I must've hit him harder than I thought! Guess I'll just end it here then.'_

Walking out of the bush Jaune couldn't help but admire his skills. Aura control, swordsmanship, dirty fighting… These four years had taken mental and physical tolls on both him, Cardin… All of them. Russel, Sky, and Dove… They've all really grown together. It was no doubt that in the upcoming weeks they'd easily prove themselves at Beacon as one of the best up and coming teams!

Without looking like total assholes! Which is actually amazing progress on their part!

But it was more than that. Like with him, how they slowly made him ever so slightly better around people, he too made them interact better. He also made them smarter, stronger and faster of both feet and mind but that's not the point…

They now, rather than being those spoilt, rich, racist pricks from when he had first met them, we're now spoilt, rich, mostly well mannered regular guys. Man though… Could you just imagine? One of them accidentally making a slanderous comment towards a fourth year faunus…

They'd be scraping them off the walls.

Clearing his head with a shake his carbon fiber arms would've trembled in excitement would they have been able to. He had won! Winning. Such a great sensation. It was almost as though he'd become addicted to it. Or maybe it was just his addiction to battle in general. Was he a violent guy? No. Would he fight for the sake of it? No, he'd choose his battle wisely. But still, battle, the adrenaline, it made him feel _so_ good!

Walking out of the grass Jaune raised his sword before walking over to the kneeling Cardin. Placing his foot onto his back he did a leg thrust so that Cardin fell forwards bending despite his great size. Raising his arm above his head he held out his sword and a perfectly timed gust of wind blew through the rustling grass.

"I, Jaune Arc of the Arc family, have vanquis-"

"What have we said about the lame old talk dude?" Butted in Sky totally having ruined the moment. Jaune looked over to the silver haired teen and raised a single eyebrow.

"You said don't do it in public, we're not i-"

"I think technically a field is public. Right?"

"I mean, technically I guess it is bu-"

"Don't even bother arguing Jaune. Just get off him. Dove, call back saying we'll need an ice pack yeah? Let's go." Sky got up using one hand before walking over to Cardin's slumped body as tears ran down his face in a cartoonish fashion.

Picking him up by the arms, Sky got Russel to take the legs as they hoisted him up and they prepared to make the two kilometer hike back to the estate. So, it was just your usual Thursday.

As they began on their way Jaune dropped to one knee and placed his practice sword onto the dirt beside himself. Reaching downwards to one of his legs he unstrapped the weights they used for training.

The ninety pound weights came off his ankles easily and he moved to his thigh removing weights of the same weight there before switching legs. Once the four lower body weights were off he removed the ones around his waist and the ones strapped to his shoulders and torso.

All in all, there was about seven hundred and twenty pounds of weights on him for that fight.

They were there so that his muscle mass would increase at a higher rate while at the same time acting as a handicap. His style depended on speed a lot of the time as well as flexibility to the point where Jaune's become faster than all four of his training buddies combined.

He's been wearing them now for around three years now out of the four he's been training and boy have they done wonders. No longer is he scrawny or weak, now he is a hunter in training, both in body and in mind.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune sat in his reconstructed room, the lights on, curtains open, personal smoke detector with fresh batteries.

The Arc family manor had been rebuilt two and a half years ago. So, two years after the incident, after it had been burned down. It had the same general design but was built now to stop any and all kinds of attacks.

Reinforced concrete foundation, reinforced concrete lining most pillars and walls. That wouldn't burn easy that's for sure. There were guard post's added, the servants quarters were moved closer to the ARc family's quarters so as to reduce distance of help. Smoke detectors in every single hallway, room and nook or cranny.

They were prepared now. But that was even without mentioning the fact that there was now three of his fully trained sisters on standby at all times. His sisters, having graduated a few years ago, were now full huntresses. Meaning that they were very scary indeed.

Humming quietly to himself Jaune checked out his arms some more. Willing the magnetic holding system to disengage on his right arm, it slumped away from the metal plate embedded in the stump with a dull thud.

Flipping it around Jaune found the dented portion and willed it to come off. The locking mechanism for that piece came undone and it came off easily when he simply tugged at it. Wheeling over on his desk chair Jaune opened a drawer before wheeling back to his arm.

Putting the new plate into place he reattached the arm before repeating the process with his left.

Twirling around his wrists, elbows, and fingers to make sure it was working he could feel everything was in place and there were no problems. Giving it a quick look over with his semblance he could feel that there were no smaller mistakes that he might have missed.

Seeing that everything was in order he got up and grabbed his hard shell suitcase. Flipping it onto his bed he began heading to his drawers and taking out the clothes he wanted to take.

Some shirts of the same design, all black would be that design of course. There were both t-shirts and long sleeved shirts. Maybe two sweaters if he felt that it would be too cold in the winter back in main Vale.

Pants of the same brand and make, black cargo pants with pockets on the sides and in the back. They were durable and who really needs more than four pairs of pants anyways right? Therefore, he packed only four pairs of pants.

He thought to put in some extra pairs of white Schnee-ckers but decided not to. His black combat boots would suit him just fine. If not, he was sure there would be somewhere he'd be able to buy something more.

He added the rest of his essentials like briefs and socks without trouble as those were all 'Cougar' brand and matching. What? You got a problem with his matching socks and briefs? Speaking of which, he should probably take a pair of black sandals. You know, in case he ever knew he would need a good conversation starter that day.

Realizing his suitcase was a bit too full he decided to take his shirts back out. This time rather than folding them into neat and precise squares he instead rolled them into… Well, rolls. They're much more compact this way. Managing to fit in his last things like toothbrush, 'Hatchet' deodorant, and his favourite shampoo 'Golden Ecstasy' into his bag, he zipped it up and placed it at the foot of his bed.

Grabbing his black plush robe from another drawer he walked over to his personal bathroom.

Opening the door he stepped in before locking it behind him. Just wouldn't do to have a servant seeing their master naked after all! Stripping down and out of his shorts, shoes, socks and other clothing he stood there in front of the mirror as he turned on the shower to the appropriate heat using his semblance.

Having a mechanics and electronics control semblance makes life so much easier.

Standing in front of the mirror he took a moment to admire himself.

Gone was the scrawny teen who had stood there years before. Now stood a hunter in training. He was no longer quite as lanky and has a willowy build if he was to describe himself. Standing at an impressive and, in his opinion the perfect height, six feet and one inches tall Jaune was rather large now and towered over most maids and sisters in his household.

His scars had healed mostly so now around his shoulders stumps there was only some white and slightly disfigured skin rather than the angry red they'd been a long time ago. His chest was toned and lean like a dancer's. He didn't have a six pack but he didn't need one.

He was like his father and had explosive power compared to overwhelming strength. Then again, due to his massive aura control he also had off the charts endurance, really he got blessed with the best of both worlds.

He had grown accustomed to the sight of the black arms which were a part of him forever now. The faceted black machines were fused just around three inches below his shoulder on both sides and had been remade several times to fit his growing body but now they fit perfectly.

The correct length, size, power appropriate to what should be physically possible. Of course, with removable limiters should he ever need to become stronger than physically possible.

They worked just as well as if not better than real human arms. That didn't stop people from pitying him whenever his arms were on display though.

He hated their pity.

Looking upwards he could see his handsome face. Gone was the baby fat, his face had turned out like his father's. Nice and handsome with decent cheekbones and jawline, complimented by both his cobalt eyes which sparkled with intelligence and his purposefully shaggy blond hair.

He would've tried growing a mustache but apparently girls weren't into that so he decided not to.

What? He has dreams of getting a girlfriend eventually too! Just because he's a monster of logic and reason doesn't mean he's heartless! Just difficult sometimes.

Sighing he got into the shower and grabbed his loofa. Rubbing some soap onto it using a bit more force than necessary Jaune lathered it up adequately and rubbed himself clean of all the grime from earlier in that day.

Feeling as scrubbed clean as he was going to get he placed the loofa back onto the metal rack and grabbed onto his shampoo bottle praying he wouldn't drop it. With metal hands, it was quite difficult to pick up a slippery bottle in the shower.

Squeezing some of his leftover 'Golden Ecstasy' into his metal palm he closed it using one hand and put it back onto the rack. Rubbing the soap around in his hands he then applied it to his scalp really getting in there and shampooing.

Feeling his hair sufficiently cleaned he rinsed before going back to apply some 'Knees 'n Toes' conditioner. Hair care is important after all! Rinsing once more he exited the shower turning off the water behind himself.

Grabbing a plush towel off the rack he patted himself dry and went through his hair. Now feeling that sensation you feel when you're dry but not completely dry, he got out his blow dryer. Setting it to 'Warm' he went through his hair letting it fly upwards and around his head as it overlapped and stuck together.

Turning it off and setting it on the bathroom counter, he grabbed his comb and went through his hair coming the left portion back and over his ear. Combing the right portion over to the right side kind of like a comb over he admired himself in the mirror.

' _Looking good handsome!'_ Grinning to himself in the mirror he ran his hands through his hair several times to totally ruin his perfect hair. Can't have himself distracting huntresses on the job right?

At least, he would believe he's handsome enough to do that. But in all seriousness, he probably was! Right? RIGHT!?

Shaking his head some more to get his semi-wet hair out of his eyes he put on the plush black robe he received a few years ago as a gift. Really it was a great gift, a robe was useful in many situations!

Exiting the bathroom he went over to what remained of his closet after he was done packing. Opening the door he grabbed out a short sleeved black t-shirt. Moving over to his drawers he got out some simple black cargo pants along with some socks and underwear.

Getting dressed he grabbed his combat boots and laced em up before hopping upwards. Grabbing onto his suitcase he looked towards his trench coat which hung on a hook near his door. It was almost…. Sad looking really.

' _What am I saying coats can't feel sad!'_

But wait… He realized that he would be going in public today… Around regular, non adjusted and non hunter people. Sighing deeply he grabbed onto his coat before pulling it over his shoulders.

Ever since he's lost his arms people looked at him differently. Some with disgust, others with unsurmountable pity, some more with relation. But nobody ever really looked at him as just him. It was always either his strange personality or his riches or his arms… So, he'd eliminate one of those factors by covering his arms.

Was he ashamed? No, he'd never be ashamed of who he was. Would he like to be treated normally though? Yes.

And with that, Jaune left his room to catch a train. A train which would take him into Vale for one night of fun and a four years of work.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune blinked rapidly as he was jolted awake.

' _Where am I…? Oh, right. I'm on a train heading at about four hundred kilometers an hour which operates on magnetic levitation technology… I remember when I fixed their design… Ah, good times.'_

Looking around he felt his body as it rested on a first class seat. Around him in the train car was various other rich and famous people who for some reason decided against taking a Bullhead. Then again it was understandable, trains were more comfortable than Bullheads, and the scenery of the Vale countryside in spring was beautiful without a doubt!

' _Seems like we're passing through Forever Fall now. Hmmm, the photos truly do not give it justice. I must remember to return here one day. Maybe I can collect some sap when I come back! Man, I can't believe it's a main ingredient in my favourite shampoo… Maybe I can start a new brand of Arc shampoo… I'd need a good spokesperson though. Whatever, I'll figure it out.'_

Looking around the rest of the car he could see that the seat next to him was empty indeed as per his request… It's good that they left that seat open. Now he could offer it to anybody in need of a seat!

Smiling to himself he brought out his scroll and pulled it open. His smile quickly died as he read the first things on the interface. Don't get him wrong, Jaune loved the interface he made for sorting out the important stuff, but sometimes it was a real asshole. He knew that personality coding was time wasted!

 _Welcome Back Jaune_

 _14:41_

 _You have ninety missed calls._

 _You have seventy three messages._

 _You have twelve thousand and eight text messages._

 _You have six emails. Four of them are ads for shampoo._

 _You have regained all your stamina in: Fire Emblem: Heroes_

 _The Final Verdict:_

 _You are either in very big trouble or a ladies man. Possibly both._

Wincing at the amount of texts he would have to read later that night Jaune opened the first email which wasn't an ad and then ignored it. Just another 'Bolivian Princess' who wanted his hand in marriage. He's done the research, Bolivia isn't a country, city state, or clan of some sort!

The next was simply some sort of invitation to some sleeper cell called 'The Division' but he ignored it after clicking on the link. N-not that he was interested of course it was just so that he could investigate! But anyways, turns out it was just for a game.

Then he, with a very saddened and defeated look which made some people in the train car look at him, clicked on the 'Texts' icon. Immediately activating his aura to increase brain processing power he watched as time slowed.

The train began moving at a snail's pace, somebody's spit from shouting shouting stopped in midair and a glass someone dropped stopped mid shatter. It was amazing. It was glorious. It was also dangerous and one of favourite techniques.

By using aura you can increase healing to specific portions of your body. By funneling aura to that portion you can increase strength or other attributes as well correct? Well, Jaune had done some researching after doing this phenomenon for the first time and turns out, if one was to funnel aura into all parts of the brain they could increase their processing speed to the point where it seems like time stopped.

What were its uses? Oh boy, they were plentiful. For one, in battle there was a limited amount of time to make decisions correct? Well with this the person making those decisions, provided they had enough aura, could slow time to a crawl to extend the amount of time they had to absorb information and choose the correct course of action.

There was also the fact that one could redirect a swing after they've made it. Would slowing time in your perception make everything else slow and yourself fast? No, he would move as slow as the world around him. But after swinging, if you realize you can't do it, you'd be able to stop and think of where to hit next and prepare to swing that way the second time continues on wards.

It's helped him in the past. Sadly, nothing could help him now.

There, from his various sisters were messages like this:

' _Jaune you son of a b**** how could you leave without saying goodbye?! You're such a a**hole get the f**k back here right now little bro or I swear I'll shove my sword up your mother f***ing ass!'_

Hmmph. Must be his older sister Amethyst who sent that one. But it was true. He did leave without saying goodbye but that was just a minor detail! It would be more efficient to leave when he did so that he could avoid traffic!

Besides they could always just call and send virtual hugs!

Speaking of which he should probably get rid of his messages. He deleted every text before using his semblance to send them all back slightly different texts so it seems like cares enough to respond in a personal way. Opening his voicemail he winced realizing he hasn't changed the thing since he's gotten the scroll. He also just so happened to forget his volume was now on full… Therefore out of his scrolls speakers came his weird pre-pubescent nerd voice.

' _H-hi you've reached Jaune of the uh… Arc family. I'm not here right no- Wait is it finishing I'm not do-'_ Followed by a beep and the phone asking what he'd like to do next.

Flushing in embarrassment for a few moments he realized he should get that changed as soon as possible. Shaking his head and ignoring the few raised eyebrows his last name caused he selected 'Play Messages'. This time though, he made sure to send it to his tactical visors earpiece.

Hearing his various sisters voices come to life over his earpieces was… Enlightening? I mean really, all most of them did was shout for most of the time about how he should 'Be human.' and 'Say goodbye.' and things like that. But what was the point of saying goodbye? It seemed awfully final after all.

That's why he prefered 'See you later.'. No it was not because he thought it was cool, or was peer pressured into using slang but because every time he said that, he did see that person later. It was his own little Arc promise.

After finishing the seventy three messages from his sisters and relatives, he had eventually got the general idea. 'Be careful and we love you.'. A good message and he already knew all these things but being told that someone loves him did indeed feel nice. Wasn't it always nice when someone says that?

Well, technically it's not _always_ nice… That would be statistically impossible and he knew it. Yet still, it's nice to think people mean it when they say it.

Plugging his scroll back into his charging port Jaune rested his head back against the chair preparing for another nap. It was time to make up for lost sleep! The past four years he's done nothing but wake up at six and train or study, or have the small amount of free time he allowed himself.

Would these few extra hours make a difference? No. But were they nice anyways? Yeah… Once he got to Beacon though he would indeed wake up at six again… But really, by waking up one or two hours earlier, that's one or two extra hours every day of the year!

Which is an extra three hundred and sixty five hours of the year to be productive!~

Ah, life hacks. Jaune should write a book. As his head rest against the headrest in the train, he could've sworn though that he felt some train car disconnect through his semblance.

Bah, probably just his semi-tired mind playing tricks on him.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Waking up again as his train pulled into the station Jaune grabbed his case out of the overhead as it wasn't too large, and made his way off.

Now inside the station wheeling his suitcase behind himself, Jaune practiced his analyzation. Checking people's body language, checking out their clothing for irregular bumps in case they were bombers, trying to figure out what that one woman that wouldn't stop talking had in that coffee cup.

I mean really! That woman just kept talking! Someone shut her up already! Damn chatty Cathys…

Sitting in the back of the cab he plugged his scroll into the GPS and uploaded the address. Sure he could've used his semblance but that would have freaked out a civilian so he just did it the normal way.

A few moments later, the glass partition was up and they were cruising along to his hotel room where he would meet up with the guys and have whatever their version of 'fun' was. Oh god, why did his spine just tingle?

Normally it only does that to foreshadow when things ended very strangely. Not badly, but strange. Oh, the quirks of aura. Really it is mysterious.

He sat in silence for the eight minute cab ride to his hotel and tipped the man a good six lien for remaining silent and not trying to make small talk. Really, that stuff was dreadful. Don't even get him started on cul de sac questions.

Walking up the large stone steps to the lobby of the hotel he looked at all those people wearing expensive suits. A couple years ago, or maybe a couple into the future, that would be him again. Heir to the Arc family.

He needed a break though. Thus, Jaune Arc the hunter who coincidentally happens to be heir to the Arc family.

Striding into the lobby people turned to stare. Well, it must be hard not to. It's not everyday one of the upper class see's a hunter in a hotel as fancy as this one. Winking to one of those upper class women so that he had practice for later he watched as she rolled her eyes and walked away.

Had he done something wrong?

Shaking his head he continued onwards to the front desk. The manager looked upwards from his from the built in scroll there and his face crinkled in apparent disgust. Must not be used to hunters in here.

"I'm sorry sir… All of our rooms are currently booked. There's a wonderful stable just down the street for your kind." The manager said completely deadpan and drawing out the 'your kind' part making Jaune sweat a bit.

Did he mean the Arcs in general or hunters in training?

"Uh… I've actually got a room checked out. Jaune Arc." Leaning against the counter of the managers section he made sure to give his cheekiest smile.

Rolling his eyes the manager took a moment to type in the name. When the picture came up he looked at it, then at Jaune, then back at the photo, and back at Jaune again before speaking. "Can I have a I.D?"

Fishing into his pocket for his wallet Jaune started getting annoyed. Not everyone has to give I.D! What's wrong with him!? Why won't he just accept that he booked a room here and deal with it?

Taking out his wallet Jaune grabbed out his driver's license. Yes. He had finally gotten it! Last year in fact. Sadly, he looked stupid in the photo but that's apparently normal. Handing it over without hassle he noticed how the man's eyes narrowed at the sight of his black metal hand.

Jaune was really starting to dislike that guy. Was it bad to judge on a first impression? No. Not at all in fact. After all, no matter how hard you try, a lingering impression remains of the first impression forever. That's simply a fact. Same thing with how people look. People do judge you for how you look.

That whole, 'If you're beautiful inside people will love the outside you.' thing isn't necessarily correct. It was one of the many sad truths of the world.

Returning to the present with a nod of his head Jaune continued looking over the edge towards the computer screen. Was he a patient guy? Sure. Would he put up with unnecessary bullshit for too long? Hell no! Wasting time on that was inefficient.

The man finally hummed to himself. "I suppose you are indeed who you say you are…. Have a nice day Mr Arc." Giving Jaune his bleached white smile he made sure to look friendly as though pretending his skepticism never happened.

"You too." He said out of simple courtesy. Could he have been an asshole about it? Sure, but drama like that never really helped anyone. So instead he just grit his teeth and strode towards the elevator suitcase in tow.

Riding up to the seventeenth floor on the twenty story building Jaune stepped out looking at the elevator landing. Not bad, there was a nice mosaic floor with a round mahogany table in the middle which had a vase of flowers on top.

Moving down the hallway he let his feet briefly settle into the plush red carpet. A place for the higher class indeed. Coming to his room, he simply opened the door using his semblance. Taking out the card would've wasted precious moments.

Moving into the nice yet not ridiculous hotel room he put his suitcase on one of the two beds in there. Sadly, there was only a room for a full family left when he was reserving a spot so he took it. Thankfully Cardin and his other friends would be bunking in different rooms though.

While Jaune's improved in certain situations, sharing a room with four dudes other than himself was still kind of a mortifying thought.

Finished checking out his room Jaune made his way back out into the hallway. Buttoning up his trenchcoat and popping up the collar he realized he should've taken a look at the mirror but there was no point now.

Walking back over to the elevator he got in and pressed the button for the twentieth floor where his friends were staying. It was going to be a good night! They'd go to this apparently 'classy' club Cardin had found and have a good time.

Whatever a 'good time' was he had no idea but there was the word 'good' in there! I mean, people liked to do normal stuff to have a good time right?

Arriving to the destination he stepped off. Luckily they were already ready to go and in fact just pressing the button for the elevator as he was walking out. He took a moment to take in their altered outfits and he felt both overdressed and underdressed at the same time.

Cardin was wearing a red dress shirt which had the first three buttons unbuttoned giving a view of his torso and neck. Nothing else really stood out as the rest of his clothing was really just black slacks, some high top shoes and a relatively ordinary belt.

Next up was Dove. He was wearing a yellow dress shi-

Wait a second. Were they colour coordinated!? What is this!? Why hadn't they invited him to the colour coordination party!?

"Oi! I've got some questions!" Cardin sighed and shook his head at his use of 'Oi!'. "First off! Why are you all colour coordinated!? Second! Why was I not invited to join!?"

Sky looked upwards and popped his collar similarly to the way Jaune had done to his trenchcoat earlier. "'Cus you ain't cool like us.~"

Rolling his eyes at the really, really lame comment Jaune just turned around and pressed the button for the main floor.

Oh man tonight was going to be great!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune was, to put it bluntly, having a good time.

He was there, in a dance club which was completely different from the classy club he thought they'd be going to! He was loaded up on Pep-Schnee, making jokes, hitting on women out of his league, attempting to make friends and failing, dancing the night away in his awkward ballroom dancing way before switching to his various other styles.

All in all, it seemed like what he would later dub as 'Club Jaune' is much better around people than 'Normal Jaune'.

Sadly things went very, very wrong.

Sitting on a bar stool he had his back to the counter as the bartender began making up another drink. On the stools next to him, sat some gorgeous women who seemed very likely to rob him given the chance. The white one on under his left arm was Melanie.

Her gloriously pale skin was flawless and seemed to sparkle as much as her white dress underneath the multi colored strobe lights. Her face was a whole 'nother sight to behold as the makeup was applied perfectly in the way which showed she didn't care… But in a way that means she did care.

Under his right arm was the more adventurous of the siblings. Miltia Malachite, her dress was ruby red and accentuated the curves she shared with her sister nicely. Some nice high heels made her stand taller as she nuzzled the back of her head into his neck.

He'd have to watch his wallet for sure tonight. Was he having a good time? Yup! Great in fact, it's been forever, in fact this is probably the first time he's ever gone out and had fun quite like this! Was he distracted? Sort of, later that night he'd go back and sort through the details for anything important.

But just because he was having a lot of fun, and distracted, did not mean that he'd be easy to fool.

It was also extremely likely these two specific girls were here to rob him due to the fact they acted all nice and… Sensual, should he say, without him doing anything to gain their attention. Don't get him wrong it was great! But not great.

Russel, Sky, Cardin and Dove hadn't stopped glaring at him all night even as they danced… It was starting to get unnerving.

Jaune began going on about something he had designed once and made some lame witty remark which everyone listening laughed at anyways. He too laughed at the stupid joke out of nervousness and the hope to be accepted. Which is totally more normal an occurrence with everybody than people believe!~

But things went very very wrong.

Suddenly all the music in the club just came to a stop and the teddy bear mascot running the turntables stopped and froze. Then the screaming started.

People began running off the dance floor as bullets began flying and what appeared to be henchmen ran out in their matching uniforms to confront the one responsible for such a mess.

Instantly and without a word Miltia and Melanie left his side and leapt into the fray and he began freaking out. People were pushing and shoving each other to get out before they would be hit by some stray bullet.

He had a sneaky suspicion that this night was about to get a lot crazier.

He was proven correct seconds later when the glass dancefloor exploded sending glass shards everywhere as the lights turned to red bathing the club in a terrifying red which sent him back to that night years ago.

Stumbling he pulled himself to his feet and slapped himself. ' _Keep it together! Okay, what to do?! The others can take care of themselves that's for sure. Main exit? No, too crowded. Window? There's only one but unless I head for it now there's no chance… The roof? No way to get up there. I could try breaking up the fight but all I have on me weapons wise are my arms and my brain… Shit!'_

Dodging a flipped table he ran for the window across the shattered dancefloor. Shielding his eyes he created a mental picture of the exact lay out of the room and ran through hoping nobody would be thrown into his path.

There was a whole cacophony of noise as bullets were flying from shotgun to rifle and there appeared to be a rocket launcher somewhere in the mix. Taking his arms down from his eyes he continued onwards making it to the other end.

One of them must've thought he was an attacker and took a swing at him with a savage looking red blade. But he avoided the swing with ease and ducked under his arm before spinning around and grabbing onto his wrist with the iron clamp of his artificial arms.

Yanking his arm backwards he drew the henchman's arm into a lock before he dislocated his shoulder and left him whimpering on the ground. Brutal? Yes. Efficient? Could be more efficient but it worked. This way there was one less shooter on the field.

But after seeing their buddy have his arm dislocated by some stranger didn't make his buddies happy. That's for sure.

Four of them broke off the main threat and charged him and he realized he couldn't make it unless he decided to go full speed. But full speed's to dangerous to use in an uncontrolled indoor environment… Fight it is.

Turning around Jaune raised his fists in a boxers stance and prepared to be charged.

While he couldn't go full speed, he didn't need to. They were slow.

Charging one of them he ran forwards catching the blade in between his palms as he twisted. The sword went spiralling out of the man's grasp and Jaune went to one knee while turning. Hooking his foot around the disarmed one he caught the one coming at him from behind and yanked the blade towards himself before grabbing onto his arm and flipping him into the disarmed one.

Hopping upwards he lunged slamming his knee into the chin of another while then extending his leg and kicking him in the balls. Pushing off the falling man as he groaned he turned with the sole of his boot against the sharp edge of a sword.

His momentum carried him through and the sword stabbed the wielder before Jaune laid a haymaker into his face sending him flying backwards. Most people would've thought they were done already but Jaune turned around to face the two who had gotten up and the one still clutching his family jewels.

Cracking his artificial knuckles to the glorious popping noise he'd programmed them to make he dashed forwards ramming his shoulder into the jaw of one of them before grabbing his tie. Pulling him back into another fist to the face Jaune jumped backwards going for a roundhouse kick to the temple of the next one.

Dusting his hands as he deposited the one he was holding by the tie onto the floor. He began continuing his mad sprint for the window and absolutely booked it. Passing by the guy he kicked in the balls he saw the gun in his hands and destroyed the trigger mechanism with his semblance while he kicked him in the throat.

Running up the stairs with his arms pumping he took them four at a time and made it up in less than a second. Now at the top of the landing he looked towards the massive window and estimated its cost.

Taking out his wallet and leaving eight thousand dollars in lien cards Jaune tucked his wallet away and began backing into the railing preparing for a run up. Letting go of the bar he began running and everything went into slow motion as he did so instinctively once his survival instinct kicked in.

Flying over his shoulder went the owner of the club 'Junior'. They'd only met a couple of hours ago but he seemed alright and totally not deserving of what was happening.

Soaring through the air behind him was a blonde who had apparently been the one to start this scuffle in the first place! Her golden mane of hair soared behind her as though it was made of gold flame and her unique red eyes simmered with both rage and some sort of warped joy.

Her fist connected with Juniors jaw sending him through the window as it shattered into a million pieces. She followed through a second later with a whoop as her semblance heat burned all the glass near her to oblivion.

He couldn't stop in his momentum now but he could change course so he ran slightly closer to where he deposited the lien for fixing the window and grabbed onto it. What? The owner broke it therefore the owner pays for it!

Jumping through the window he went soaring through the star filled sky and landed in a crouch. The crappily maintained street of the Vale red light district was covered in small amounts of flaked glass, or large amounts now, and dust looking like it hasn't rained in years. A small tumbleweed of garbage came swirling by.

On the other side of the street was Junior on the sidewalk curled up and seemingly unconscious. Thankfully it seemed like his aura pooled together one last time to protect his jaw and body from that final punch and tumble out the window respectively.

Looking to the left Jaune saw a nice motorcycle which was painted in black and yellow-ish orange. Hmmm, if he had to own one like that he'd call it Bumblebee or something… Then again he'd also make it transform into a giant robot so…

To his right stood the blonde brawler with her hands on her hips. Now that he finally got a good look at her he could tell she was good looking. No, scratch that, drop dead gorgeous really.

From her perfect hourglass figure to her warm lilac eyes she seemed like the perfect covergirl for any kind of clothing. Now that her hair wasn't on fire he could see that it went down to her rear and possibly more in some sections, and it was obviously well maintained at that too!~

She was dressed in what seems to be some sort of tan leather jacket over top of a yellow tank top which left some of that tone stomach exposed, as well as some black shorts which were probably illegally short in some backwater town somewhere.

He was broken out of his stupor when she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"-ello? You can stop staring now!~ Nice job in there by the way." She flipped her hair over her shoulder before moving her hand back and putting it over her shoulder properly.

"Oh uh, yeah thanks." Scratching the back of his head sheepishly he silently cursed himself for the annoying habit. "You didn't do too bad yourself."

She laughed. Good! That's the first step right?

"Well I wouldn't have started something if I didn't think I'd finish it." She said sashaying over to him. Throwing out a hand she grinned. "The names Yang Xiao Long."

He stared at the hand for a good three seconds before realizing she was offering a handshake. Placing his metal hand against hers in a firm and professional grip he made sure not to do anything too hard. Wouldn't want to break her hand. "Jaune Arc. Pleasure to meet you."

Letting go he ignored her slightly widened eyes as she realized the hand she was gripping was made of metal. Yang then continued hiding it well. She must be used to injuries like that.

"Well, I've got to get going before the cops show up. Next time we meet I'll buy the drinks kay?"

Straddling onto her motorcycle she sat there and started the ignition before putting on her helmet and flipping up her visor for a second. "And please, don't make me wait _Long._ "

He made a laugh at the pun and for some reason she stopped in her tracks for a moment. Quickly though her apparent shock dissipated and she flicked down the visor before speeding off.

' _Ah, always good to meet a fellow punster. I wonder if we'll ever meet again. She seems like a good time.'_

And with that final thought Jaune kicked at a bottle on the ground and made his way back to his hotel room. It was a bit of a long walk but he wouldn't mind. He'd occupy himself by whistling a _Jaune_ -ty tune. He's already started thinking of puns...

He'd be so prepared when they meet again.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Waking up Jaune looked around the room sleepily for a moment before raising his arms and rubbing his eyes. Wincing at the cold metal against his warm face he closed his eyes again before turning on his lights using his semblance.

They came on not a moment later and he opened his eyes feeling significantly less glare than would normally. Grabbing the corner of the blanket he opened it up and hopped out of bed making his way to the bathroom.

Quickly using the toilet, taking a shower, and brushing his teeth he felt ready to get dressed. But beforehand he combed his hair into perfect rows of course and then shaggified it. What? Can't have himself distracting those huntresses! Or huntsman if they swing that way. He don't judge.

Exiting the bathroom robed in a towel he went over to his suitcase and picked out today's clothing. Would he be taking his combat stuff…? Seems like a good idea seeing as though it's a combat school he starts at today but would they be having fights so soon in the day?

Probably.

Grabbing out his armors underlayer, he began getting dressed into it. It was nothing overly special but it was practical and effective. Not to mention an important part of his armour in general.

On his torso he wore a light grey, long sleeved thermal base layer which matched the pants. The torso was tight around the chest area allowing for a show of his muscles which wasn't intentional but also not hated. The pants weren't tight as they were about two inches too large but the aura-channeling threads he had imbedded in them would tighten if he activated the nanites within. They too were grey but of a darker grey colour. While this was infuriating for his OCD, it made sense.

After all, people who wear only one colour even though it's _not_ black, need to figure out that they should have some sort of contrast.

Since it was a thermal base layer it kept him cool. Which was great thing considering that the Valean springs were actually rather hot at this time. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, late at night and early in the morning, it was actually rather chilly. This would then help him retain body heat as well.

The material was ultra high molecular weight carbon polyethylene. Well at least some of it was. There was a very thin inner layer which was made of the carbon polyethylene but it was all that was really needed. The thin layer would stop a bullet if his aura didn't… But, if he ever had to be catching bullets without his aura, he was likely to die anyways. But when aura was involved, the fabric was near impenetrable. Which was good.

All in all, it was light, effective and worked very well with his mainly speed and or explosive power fighting style. It was only better when the actual armor plates were on though… Those were at Beacon so this would suffice.

Grabbing his suitcase he took it and began rolling his way to the lobby turning off the lights behind himself and locking the door. The elevator ride was a short uneventful one, though he did notice that they were playing one of his favourite songs, 'The Girl From Ipanema' which was the basis of all cliche elevator music.

Fun facts with Jaune oh boy!~

Arriving down in the lobby at six in the morning was interesting as only the manager was awake. They rarely sleep and when they do it's only for about five hours a day from seven 'till twelve. Throwing his card onto the counter he left not bothering with pleasantries this morning.

He had places to be.

Flagging down a cab he got into one of the all night cabs stationed outside. Luckily it was still being covered by his hotel rooms expenses. Telling the driver he'd need to go to the docks he went on his way.

It was a short ride. About eleven minutes or so nearing twelve if he had to guess. Stepping outwards he went into the station and took a seat in one of the padded chairs you'd wait on if you're early.

Opening his suitcase he reached into one of those pockets attached to the lif part and took out his book. He would have a great chance to get caught up on reading… Taking out his latest, totally possibly not smut book Jaune opened to the page where he left off. One hundred and nine.

For the next two hours, he read the literary masterpiece 'Makeout Paradise'.

...Flip…

...Flip...Flip…

...Now _that's_ kunai knife!...

Once the first couple people began filtering in he put away the masterpiece only missing its presence a little bit. Instead, he took out his scroll and opened another tab on his notes and began to fill them out with idea's.

The main ones however, were these three. Indestructible shell, cloaking, and wrist lock on tasers.

Still no idea's for the indestructible shell… It would be immensely useful should he figure it out though! He'd be able to take a tank blast and be fine! Well, not counting the resulting force as it through him like a ragdoll. Then again, to keep something like that running it would either have to be permanent, or turn on and off. Both would take massive amounts of energy though if he'd need to figure out how to do it with what was appearing to be the easiest method: Neodymium magnets and magnetorheological fluid.

The tasers would be the easiest. All he'd have to do is refit parts of his arms and fix some of the design to put in the prongs… But then there was the issue of reloading. Would he use them one time only for each shot or reuse? Well, he wouldn't be tasing people all that much so one time use seems fine.

The cloaking would be easier to find a solution to than the shield but still no idea's. Where most people assume invisibility simple involves being see through it was more than that. For it to work properly he'd need to bend the light around himself. How he'd do that he had no idea but there must be a way somewhere.

Shaken out of his work by a voice over the P.A he closed the tab and tucked his scroll into one of the pockets in his pants. Grabbing his suitcase he made his way to gave four where the airship would take him to Beacon.

Stepping on he looked around for a seat but saw none so he settled on leaning against the window. Right across from him was the holographic T.V playing something on the news about 'Roman Torchwick'.

Making note of the potentially dangerous criminal at large he watched as the newscast went back to Lisa Lavender.

" _In other news this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protest turned dark when several members of the White Fang interrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted -"_

Sadly she was cut off as the T.V. stopped projecting. Instead came up the hologram of a renowned hunter who taught at Beacon academy. Glynda Goodwitch.

" _Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of attending this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it."_

Then she just went on about how they'll provide us with knowledge now and that it's our job to preserve the peace of the world. Probably normal stuff for hunters to be hearing about things like that.

Turning away from the T.V Jaune looked around. There were all sorts of colourful people. From bright yellow, to red, to blue and green, all sorts of colourful people were on the airship. The colours were explainable and brought a small smile to his lips.

It was a job for hunters to bring positivity to people and what better way to combat the darkness of grimm than with colourful clothing? Of course, that wasn't the only reason. It was also to help them stand out among other hunters while in the battlefield or if a name isn't given.

He almost laughed. He stood out in how monochrome he was. Simply wearing grey.

To his left he saw Yang hugging some sort of smaller girl. Whereas Yang was boisterous and easily noticeable the other girl seemed to want nothing but to not be noticed. Which was odd, why wear a bright red hood if you don't want to be noticed?

Accompanying her red hood was a black nearly gothic outfit. It had red accents and connected to her cape by her shoulders using some cross metal pins. Her combat skirt, as he had learned from his sisters was very important, was dark black with red at the fringes which hung out the bottom. Also completing this ensemble were some black tights and boots which had red laces going through them.

He was about to start thinking of ways to say hi but those plans were destroyed a moment later. Yang raised her hand and waved him over while shouting "Hey Jaune!" Turning his head towards her he could see the red caped girl looking fidgety.

Walking over he moved his suitcase to his side. "Hello Yang. How are you?"

"Great thanks! Anyways, Jaune this is my sister Ruby! Ruby, meet Jaune!" Yanking Ruby out from behind her where she'd been trying to hide she pushed her in front where she looked down at her feet and held out a hand. He could hear her mumbling but couldn't quite discern what she said.

Taking her dainty hand in his metal one he gave it two firm shakes without much force behind them before lowering it. "I'm going to assume you said 'hi' there Ruby. So anyways, what you guys doing here?"

Yang rolled her eyes before laughing. "Come on Jaune you can't be that stupid! We're all here to be hunters. Remember? That's why we're on this airship. To Beacon. It's fairly obvious."

Resisting the urge to facepalm at the lame question he made, he decided to just roll with it. "Hehe, sorry. I'm kind of terrible at this whole thing normal people call 'interacting'. Forgive me please?"

"Already done! Now, you and Ruby seem like you'd be great friends! Both of you are really, _really_ awkward." She said before the doors of the airship hissed open. Apparently they'd landed. "Anyways-I'm-going-to-go-over-here-now-with-my-friends-bye!"

Disappearing in a cloud of dust he looked down at Ruby who's eyes were sparkling as they exited the Airship. What was she looking at? Turning he could see that her line of sight followed every weapon her eyes came across.

"I take it you like weapons?" He said trying to make conversation. Sadly, he didn't realize quite how much she like'd them.

"Yup, I love them! Who needs people when you've got a grenade hammer!~" Her mood has instantly changed compared to when they were surrounded by people in the airship. As she bounced around listing every weapon to him he couldn't help but think she was adorable. She really was!

"Well, if you like weapons that much, how about you see mine?" Her eyes lit up and she looked at him with an expression that would've killed a puppy with its cuteness.

"Really!? Oh please!" She bounced into his personal space, her black, red tipped hair bouncing around her head as she did so.

Jaune ruffled her hair like he would to his sisters. "Of course! Let's go get it!"

Walking forwards to the 'Baggage Claim' area he typed his name into an open panel and his bags came out, being wheeled on a cart which he knew for a fact the Arc company designed. It came near and scanned his retina before opening and giving him the view of a briefcase which he promptly took out.

Inside the briefcase was his ranged weapon as well as his armor but on the outside of the briefcase was what really mattered. Strapped to the side was a four long katana which was almost entirely black.

Walking with Ruby as she fawned over his weapon, they moved to a more secluded area of the sword where he detached the sword from the briefcase and held it in his hand. "You ready?"

"Of course!" She said before bouncing again. Boy, that girl must be half puppy faunus or something.

"Okay then. Behold! Fate's Whip!" Drawing the blade out of it's scabbard with a flourish he held it in his right hand in front of himself.

The katana was roughly four feet long. The scabbard was entirely black, dark as midnight with some orange-ish-gold-ish metal near the top of it where the hilt would connect to the scabbard. Emblazoned beneath the metal was the Arc insignia in gold.

The blade itself was four feet long and made of the same kind of orange metal. It wasn't a bright metal. It was like looking at a sunset, the orange hue of the metal was warm and welcoming. It shone yet was dull at the same time, ripples in the surface from the metals original properties and smelting process seemed to move as he swung it through the air once or twice.

The handle was black leather which criss crossed around and left diamond shaped holes in the hilt which seemed to burn cherry red. The straps and metal framing covered a hollowed out hilt. Inside the hilt currently was a reusable dust magazine. Currently, the fire magazine was equipped and the bright red colour seeped through the diamond holes in the side giving it a ferocious look.

Instantly Ruby was all over it.

"What kind of metal is that! What can it do!? What's that magazine type? Any hidden features!? Is it also a gun? Do you have a gun if it's not a gun? Can you understand me? Oh boy I need to breath!" Stopping in her talking and puffing up her cheeks he let out a laugh. She let go of the breath and pouted.

"It's not nice to laugh at people who can't breath!" She said the pout still on her face. Reattaching the scabbard back to his belt he continued holding the sword in his hand.

Wow, that pout is super effective! His high defense score from training with his sisters has been totally destroyed! Ruffling her hair again with his left hand her pout stopped.

"Sorry… Anyways, to answer your questions in order, it's a secret metal I won't tell you, it can do some really cool and also secret stuff, the magazine type is reusable fire dust crystal at the moment one of the first of its kind, yes there's plenty of hidden features, no it's not also a gun, I don't have a gun but I've got a crossbow and yes, I can understand you." Taking a moment to breathe himself he took a pause before he continued. "Wanna hold it?"

"Heck yeah I do!" He flipped it around in the air until he was holding it by the blade. Offering the handle in her direction she grabbed it and he let go. She instantly was pulled downwards as the blade his the ground.

"Wow that's heavy. That's _really_ , _really_ heavy!" The little huntress said pulling on it as she said really for emphasis. It raised a few inches off the ground but didn't go much further.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. It was hard not to laugh or go 'Aww' at the adorable scene in front of him but he managed to just barely keep it together. "Yeah sorry… Guess I forgot about that."

Taking it from her grip he put it back into the scabbard and the handle stopped glowing. Fate's Whip. Also known as Sors Scuticia. A fitting name for a fitting weapon. Attaching it back to his briefcase he turned off the backlighting on the handle.

"So… Can I see yours?" Jaune asked. He could feel with his semblance that it was something rather coml- Oh. She already took it out.

"Behold!" Ruby said in that adorable trying to be serious voice. "Crescent Rose!"

The giant red scythe looked taller than she was. In fact it _was_ taller than her! The black metal from the spear point at the bottom and the crescent of the scythe glistened in the sunlight. The beautifully well done paint job all along it was really impressive, the general extravagance of the work almost put his to shame! Key word being _almost_.

"My turn for questions. Is it part gun?" He asked casually. He already knew the answer since he could sense the internal machinery with his basically always on semblance but it's polite to ask.

"Yup!~ A sniper rifle to be exact." She held it close to her and caressed the blade. "Yup, my baby here can pierce through anything you could think of!"

At that he raised an eyebrow. He knew of several things it wouldn't be able to pierce. But, wouldn't name them. As he's learned from Cardin and crew, it was that correcting people was a jackass thing to do.

"Wow. My crossbow is cool but yours sounds better. We should compare one day…" At that her eyes lit up again before she got kind of bashful and all her confidence drained away. She kicked at the floor awkwardly with her foot.

"So uh… Hey, Jaune?"

"Yes Ruby?" He smiled at her. Smiling at people makes them more likely to open up to you right?

"You want to be friends!?" She blurted out quickly. Jaune grinned at her.

"That sounds great Ruby. You know I too have problems socia-" He was cut off when she dashed inhumanly fast into his chest knocking the wind out of him.

He looked down to see her face against his chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Jaune gave off a laugh. She was just too adorable! It makes him just want to squeeze those perfectly pale cheeks! "Ruby, don't thank people for being your friend. If you need to thank them they're not really your friend."

Ruby dashed backwards and the hug was over as quickly as it was started. "Okay! Anyways, know where we're going?"

He stopped. "I was following you! Give me a second."

Going into his mind Jaune conjured up the blueprints and maps of the school he's seen on the panels and brochures of the school when he was surveying it a few years ago. If the landmarks hadn't been moved then they were to the right of the main entrance to the speech hall.

"This way!"

With that, the now duo went to the concert hall so that they could be awkward around other people. Well, at least they could do it together.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

The speech was over after a while. Once the speech was done they returned baggage to people who didn't have it yet, and collected stuff which would be sent to their rooms after initiation. He gave them his clothing after taking out his pajamas and toothbrush as well as one of his not (cough smut cough) books.

Ruby had gone off to be with Yang but she said that she'd see him tomorrow. Now alone he followed the rest of the crowd in relative silence. Apparently some of the first years got one hall while others got this hall. Something about it being easier to monitor them this way.

After changing Jaune grabbed one of the provided sleeping bags, in black of course, and went into the hall. He was one of the first ones there so he decided on the best place in there.

Not underneath a chandelier, if that fell it would crush him and while asleep would almost definitely kill him. By the window? No, the noise and moonlight would be too annoying. By the doors? No, he doubted they'd turn off the hallway's light, meaning that it would annoy Jaune the entire night should he sleep there.

Ah, screw it. Jaune could see that there was curtains on the windows anyways and he doubts anyone would mind if he closed those. Moving over there Jaune closed the curtains making the room slightly darker but not by much. The lights were still on after all.

Putting his sleeping back right by the window he looked around. Ah! Looks like there was a candlestick on top of a dresser near by. That'd be useful for reading later.

Looking around at the other occupants of the room he leaned back against the wall and took out his book. Across the room apparently getting into her nightgown was Pyrrha Nikos, that was cool-HOLY CRAP PYRRHA NIKOS!? Wow, that's something all right. He'd have to be sure to treat her normally. If there was one thing he knew of, it was being fawned over. It was good for a while, until you realized it sucked. Hard. As long as he treats her normal, she shouldn't be all cold to him.

To her right was Weiss Schnee. Ah, the petite heiress of the Schnee family. He still felt kind of bad calling off their engagement but Jacques should've read the fine print. Besides, she didn't want to marry him anyways, he did her a favour! He'll go say hi tomorrow, never mess with a girl before bed.

Wait, that doesn't sound right. Shouldn't you not screw with women when they wake up?

Oh well, he would but he's already sitting down…Calling out would take too much effort. Sighing he opened his book 'At Light Speed'. A book about how light manipulation technology was advancing faster than light.

The entire title was a pun and he loved it.

He was reading for about an hour before they dimmed half the lights. Every once and awhile he raised his head up to take a cautionary look around. You know, in case anyone ever needed him. Looking to the right he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a mysterious and wonderful voice to his right.

"Is this spot taken?"

Turning left so fast he thought he'd give himself whiplash, he came face to face with one of the most beautiful people he's seen in his life.

Her hair was midnight black, true midnight not unlike his swords scabbard, and it stood out against her milky white skin which looked smooth and perfect. Her amber eyes sparkled in some sort of amusement, likely from him turning around in fright, and they were warm as honey. She was dressed in some sort of yukata like bed dress which went down to her mid thigh showing off her long creamy legs.

Well, he didn't believe in love at first sight… But he's almost starting to. Seriously is it a requirement to be good looking if you're to be a slayer of monsters?

"U-uh, no it is not." Gesturing to the empty space along the wall about four feet away from himself he watched as she put down her sleeping bag. Noticing her bow he took in the fact that it was in two _perfect_ triangles on top of her head.

 _Perfect_ triangles. No-one no matter how much you practice can make a bow into perfect triangles. The truth dawned on him a moment later and it all made sense. The eyes. It was all connected to the eyes.

She sat down and took the candlestick placing it between them. Not that she'd need it as he now knew. Then again appearances must be kept up. She turned to him.

"Got a match?" She asked.

"Uh, no? Why would I carry matches?" He patted down his blue flannel pajamas. They were striped, comfortable and covered his arms. The best pajamas in existence! Sadly, they didn't have matches on the inside.

"Some people just do."

"What kind of people do you hang around?" He asked back before leaning towards the candlestick. Silence came from her end in a response to that.

Raising his right hand he moved his finger to the wick of the candle and she looked towards his hand. Her eyebrow raised as she took in Jaune's carbon fiber hand but her eyes completely widened when the tip of his finger opened.

From the tip of his index finger a small stream of fire went pouring onto the candle. He let it go on for a good three seconds before Jaune let it die off. Retracting his hand he relaxed against the wall.

He could see Yang and Ruby on the other side of the room. Jaune would've waved them over but there was no point. What would they do this late at night? Nothing. That's what.

Continuing with his reading, the lights eventually went out. Taking a moment to adjust, he took in the people as they settled into their sleeping bags. Glancing to his right quickly he could see that she herself was reading. ' _The Man With Two Souls'_ an interesting choice indeed.

A half hour after the lights went off and when most people were asleep she turned to him. "You…"

"Jaune."

"What?"

"Jaune. My name's Jaune. Nice to meet you." He extended an arm. She gave a little smile and grasped her and with her own. Her hands were surprisingly soft for a huntress, you'd expect it to be calloused or something. They were also smaller than his by a large amount, even if his arms weren't made of metal they would've been.

"Likewise. Blake Belladonna." He retracted her hand and leaned her head back against the wall never taking her eyes off him. "You keep your hands well hidden. Why would you hide them? Surely there are people here who would accept your disab-"

"Tell me Blake…Why do you wear that bow? Answer that and you have my answer." Jaune grabbed the candlestick and raised it to his lips as she looked at her knees which were pressed against her chest. "Also, it's not a disability. They're my greatest strength, trump card… My last surprise."

With that he blew out the candle, got into his sleeping bag, and mentally berated himself for trying to be cool.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune felt wind rushing by his face and opened his eyes. It got more intense and sunlight streamed through the clouds into his face as he tumbled through the sky. Out of control! He had no control over his body.

The adrenaline kicked in and he went into a freefall pose slowing his descent as he regained some control over his falling form. ' _Where the fuck am I!? Why am I falling!? This can't be a dream… This can't!'_

So he did the only logical thing he could. He looked down and screamed at the top of his lungs. Noticing that he was still falling he looked around moving his head against the g-force. Around him he could see more falling bodies, most of which didn't seem awake.

In his ear he suddenly felt an earpiece. Good, feeling was returning to his body. The words he heard next though didn't fill him with confidence.

" _Welcome first years. This is the beginning of your initiation."_

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Oh boy! We're getting into stuff of my own design now! Yup, next chapter, maybe the one afterwards we get my own version of initiation. It'll be crazy, it'll be exciting, it'll be better than everything you've ever seen before during a RWBY initiation!~

 _ **Sadly, we've got to take a break. So sorry about it, but I've got exams from the twelfth to the sixteenth. Meaning, I've got to study for them… I'm sure most of you if not all of you can relate. Once again, so sorry about that. So, no chapter next week.**_

Anyways, I've not got much else to say… But, any of you that guess his partner correctly will get an internet cookie! (Not really.) Now I'm going to respond to reviews… Afterwards we'll be talking about an upcoming story of mine which's basically been confirmed by now.

If you don't want to read the responses or my idea the best time to leave is now! Please, have a wonderful day and leave a review you wonderful people!~

 **Review Responses:**

 **BadHum3r:** Yup, I don't really know why people are so against mechashift but I'm for it… Anyways, yeah, Jaune'll know both Weiss and Pyrrha but he won't mimic either of them. Also, he'll only know one personally.

 **Jack905:** I'm not sure whether you're being serious or not mate…

 **NinjaFang1331:** Thanks!  
 **xXgabeXx:** Haha, nope, Doctor Strange ain't got his cloak yet. Nice job spotting the reference.

 **desdelor97:** Thanks again dude!~ Good to know I did handle that right.

 **B.J. Blazkowicz:** Indeed! It will be with both Ruby and Pyrrha. However, I still don't know what to do with Pyrrha's fate. Do I kill… Do I keep her alive… The real problem, is that I don't know what I'd do with her in Volume 4. I've got the plotline for that volume sorted out but she might throw a wrench in it.

 **Frank Horrigan:** Replied to you in PM like usual! (This guy is too intense to speak to in responses.)

 **dracohalo117:** Being consistent continually gets harder… It'll be easier this summer though hopefully. But it seems also, that once I hit the ten thousand words mark, writing gets really easy.

 **1st Dragon King:** Thank you very much!~ I won't say whether your guess is right or not since that would be spoiling…

 **Shock Fanfiction:** What can I say? Nothing! Since that would be spoilers. Thanks for guessing though.

 **Sword Art Offline:** Thanks! Like I've said before, it's good to know that I didn't make it too vague.

 **Cr00cy:** Don't worry. I won't make everyone around him stupid to make Jaune look smart, and I won't remind you every thirty seconds that he's a genius. Yeah, I'm trying to work out that comma problem… Accept this forgiveness cookie? Jaune lost his arms until about three inches below his shoulder. Funnily enough, that's roughly the same amount as Yang lost. Thanks for sticking around!~

 **Outcast's redeemer:** Sorry to crush your dreams but it won't be a 'bromance' per say… More of a friendship really. But we won't be seeing him too often. However, we will indeed be seeing Cardin and the crew around.

 **Zentari2238:** Haha, hopefully this chapter took some of that edge off. The entire story will be lighter from now on, I just wanted the first two chapters to succeed where my old story failed. Which was, in my opinion the first two chapters.

 **That guy:** Face it… Your Nora ship will never sail! No, Jaune is not a more fleshy Genos… Yet? Yes puns will be _pun_ -valent… (Get it like prevalent? It's a lame one I'm sorry… Yang would be disappointed in me.) I can't say anything about your guesses 'cus spoilers… Also, yeah I think the problem with a lot of people is thinking too much. I don't really have that problem unless it's about women.

I'll never understand them.

 **Note Two?:** Done with review responses. Onto that idea I mentioned!

It'll be Jaune centric where he has a 'Gamer-esque' semblance. More specifically, a 'Dating Simulator' semblance. He'll have stats like: Proficiency, Looks, Charm, Wit, Charisma, Luck and Stamina. He'll have levels as well as experience. He can gain levels by certain acts as well as completing quests.

There'll be rewards for each girl he romances, and each and every girl in the series is available for romancing. There will be different endings as well for each girl: Good Ending, Neutral Ending, Smut Ending, and the infamous 'Bad Ending'. All of which are obtainable.

He'll have the ability to make save files in case he screws up. Will he abuse them? Maybe, I'm kind of undecided. Anyways, it should be a hell of a ride. With the multiple save files and partners, really anything is possible! I've also got an 'New Game +' type thing and a tutorial in the planning stages.

So what do you say? Good idea? Bad idea? Let me know in a review or PM… Personally I think this'd be a great hit since I've got luck with these things but please, let me know.

(Some of you have raised on my other story, very good points about it being close to 'Unwinnable'. Here is where you're wrong. In unwinnable, he doesn't want multiple partners, has no stats, no levels, no quests, and one save file. In this it'll be different but with the same 'Dating Sim' concept. It's hard to make use a concept for a story and make it original I'll have you know!)

Well, enough of that. Everyone that stuck around this long… Here, take some virtual maple bacon, and have a wonderful day! Oh, and don't forget to leave a review so _I_ have a wonderful day!~

See you!~

 **-DragonManMax**


	4. Chapter 2

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" _ **The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead."**_

 _ **-Aristotle**_

 **Note:** Hello! We're back for another chapter. Don't have much to say here… Oh wait. I actually have a bit to say here so stay tuned!

Okay so, you know that story I was talking about last chapter? Well, it's out. That's right ladies and gentlemen! The Jaune/Dating Sim story is now out and in the world of RWBY Fanfiction! Now, you may be wondering: Where is it? What is it called? Well it's called: _The Woman Whisperer_

So far, it's gotten positive feedback and I think people are really going to enjoy where it goes. So please, go check it out. The first chapter is only five thousand words, really it isn't too much to read.

Well, now that that's done with, let's talk about initiation. Being serious, I had a whole epic and amazing initiation planned… Sadly, while writing it I've had a major case of writer's block, not on _what_ to write but _how_ to write it. Meaning, I've needed to use the basic initiation except with a few tweaks.

I'm so sorry. But enough apologizing! Too much canadianism is too much! Onto the chapter!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter II**

* * *

Wind flew through his hair and into his face pestering his eyes. Jaune blinked rapidly and not because he was tired, the adrenaline woke him up twelve seconds ago. It was to see whether what he was seeing was real or not.

Sadly it was.

If he had to estimate, Jaune was about twenty thousand feet in the air, without a parachute or any way of stopping himself. Well, technically he did have a way to stop himself, but it would involve _his body_ hitting something he liked to call _the ground_ …

He would stop himself by turning into _mush_ in that scenario.

Cursing the headmaster of Beacon as he fell Jaune knew it was only a matter of time until he either: a.) Found a way to stop himself. Or: b.) The ground solved that problem for him.

' _Think this through Jaune! Not all hope is lost! Okay, so you don't have your visor so falling face down is annoying yet necessary. I'm in skydivers pose so I'm falling slower than I would if I was still asleep but not by much. As far as I can tell, I'm dressed in my pajamas, but I can't feel much… No parachute is on me that's for sure. I do have an earpiece in though… But that won't do anything! What the shit is an earpiece supposed to help me with?'_

Turning around slowly against the wind he saw the rapidly approaching forest. It was large and green, seemingly stretching on forever in one direction while in the other it stretched on for a few kilometers, then going to the ocean.

If he was dropped right here this meant that the initiation grounds was below him. Meaning that landing in the ocean was a no go. Unless of course he somehow landed in deep enough water, swam to shore, made the three kilometer hike, and arrived on time for initiation.

Which was highly unlikely.

Managing to reach his hand into his ear he tapped on the earpiece. Nothing happened. Growling to himself he ignored the scenery below, and began instead to take in what was happening to the others as they fell.

He could see that everyone was awake now. Very few of them were tumbling, from this distance all he could tell is that most of them were falling at about the same rate as he. So, they were either doing an altered version of the skydivers pose, or roughly the same weight.

' _Can I maybe use the trees on the ground to stop myself? No way, I'd be going waaaaay to fast. Unless I slowed down… Which I can't do without a parachute or something similar. Well, I can kind of slow myself down but it would do jack shit in the long run.'_

As he continued brainstorming, in one part of his brain he did the math. He had about two and a half minutes until he hit the ground. That's when his earpiece crackled to life and his ears were filled with the screaming of multiple people.

Cringing and cocking his head as he tried to get rid of the earpiece he decided not to. This meant he was likely connected to the other fallers now.

Raising his voice and hoping it would carry over the wind, Jaune decided to try calming everyone down. "EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

What? He never said he would be polite about it!

There was an eerie silence from the earpiece as it was replaced by the whistling of wind as it went by. Suddenly a voice came over which he recognized as Yang's. "WHAT DO WE DO THEN!?"

"ANYONE HAVE A PARACHUTE?" He screamed into the earpiece. If he was correct on how making partners worked, half of the initiates would have parachutes.

There was a general chorus from the group of people who had parachutes. Six people in this batch had parachutes. Apparently, he was taking initiation with his friends, Cardin, Russel, Sky and Dove. Which was good, but didn't help him all that much right now.

"EVERYONE FIND SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE A PARACHUTE AND PAIR UP!"

"HOW WILL THEY OPEN?" Cardin's booming voice came over the earpiece. One of the few who had a parachute. Jaune, was one of the few that sadly, did not have a parachute. But if Cardin was asking 'How would they open?' didn't that mean that there was no cord?

" _Once you get within range of a parachute, it will open. The range is two feet."_ Ozpin's voice came over the earpiece crystal clear and calm despite the fact he very possibly just dropped twelve teenagers to their deaths.

Growling Jaune turned towards the nearest body to himself. "YOU HEARD THE MAN! GO!"

Bringing in his arms he went for the first person he saw. Below him there was a familiar, black bowed girl who was falling her hair streaming wildly behind her. As he accelerated towards her he stopped about halfway and retracted his arms again.

Eventually coming within about eight feet of her he waved. Her eyes locked into his and she looked down again before looking back up at him. Raising a single finger on her left hand and three fingers on her right, he knew what she was trying to say.

One minute, thirty seconds.

Moving forwards, he leaned into the wind feeling it as it caused his clothing to billow around himself. He got within four feet of her. All contact to the other parachuters had been cut off, and it seemed like he was receiving and giving out a signal only to Blake's earpiece now.

Looking upwards he could see her panicked face and he could only imagine what _he_ looked like. Eyes probably bulging out of his head as he went mad. Never in his wildest dreams- Okay maybe in his wildest dreams, since he's had some pretty fucked up ones- would he have expected to solve himself falling to death from twenty thousand feet in the air.

"I'M GOING TO WAIT SOME MORE!" She nodded. A difficult task considering that air was forcing her head upwards. He appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

As he fell, Jaune made notice of the important things he'd likely have to know. Down below, turns out as he got closer, there was a emerald green and giant forest. The side furthest from the ocean was apparently elevated, like a set of cliffs overlooking the forest.

It was interesting to say the least. It wasn't all that common to see that in nature. He estimated it was about an extra four hundred feet underneath sea level. So, he and Blake should land on the edge so that his current calculations made sense. Then they should be able to scale down the cliffs and into the lower part of the forest. Assuming of course that was where they were supposed to go.

He also realized upon some extra looking around, that it was early afternoon, not morning as he had originally assumed upon waking up.

Seeing that they were about ready to get into position he looked back up at her. Nodding in her direction he sent his arms out in her general direction, and maneuvered so that they were level. Her hand came out and he swung grabbing it.

Not pulling himself forwards until he was sure that the transmitter to shoot the parachute was in his ear he prepared.

Focusing for a brief second, he closed his eyes and reached out into the vast world searching with his semblance for anything mechanical, electrical, anything computer like… Just plain anything that would work with his semblance.

Locking onto his earpiece as it was the closest item to him, Jaune felt its inner machinery. With a brief, imperceptible nod on his passive face, the machine broke. Not in any way noticeable to anyone else, but it just broke on the inside.

He blew a capacitor. Thank god it was small otherwise he could've died!

Pulling himself in towards Blake he watched as her face turned into near terror. Technically, they were within two feet and the parachute hadn't gone off.

The beige backpack containing the parachute clung to her body with straps coming along her chest and clipping in, while more straps came in between her legs and around them. He only wished he was the one who put it o- No! Bad perverted thoughts Jaune!

He shivered. It felt as though in another world, something was telling him that those perverted thoughts were a good thing…

Pulling himself closer he wrapped his arm around her back and on top of the parachute. Placing his head against her shoulder he moved his legs and they began tumbling out of control faster and faster now nearly unable to stop.

Gripping her legs with he shifted his arms until they were around her waist and below the parachute. It was a strange position but it would have to do. It was also a position which totally ignited his hormone production and it was only due to the fact that he was falling from twenty thousand feet that he hadn't begun fantasizing yet.

Curse his mind and it's powerful imagination! Though, quickly running the odds in his head, it was actually quite likely they'd grow to develop some sort of feelings for each other at one point.

Jaune gave a grin. This was going to be a great four years!

With that he explosively activated his semblance so that his arms locked onto each other physically unable to let go as the parts were frozen in that position. His arms remained around her waist and he feared for hurting her from the jolt but she could take it. If she couldn't she shouldn't even be here. Blake's earpiece fizzled into garbage giving him a scare for a moment before realizing she was still alive.

The parachute came out and there was a yank and a yelp as they were both yanked upwards. Well, it felt like they were both yanked upwards, really their acceleration just basically stopped as the parachute gathered air and opened.

His arms dug into her waist and he reactivated them pulling himself closer in. Feeling some of the ropes press against his face he didn't care. After all, he got to smell her hair, which while seeming very strange was more common than most people believed!

Right!?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

After silently falling through the air in an semi-awkward silence, they finally got to the treeline. Blake saw it too and reached her hand upwards onto one of the parachute handles. Maneuvering them so that they'd fall into a tree, he decided it was indeed the right call. He'd rather fall into a tree than the hard ground.

As they were about twenty feet away from the tree and falling fast he let go of Blake, untangling his legs and releasing his arms from around her waist. Leaning backwards he fell into the foliage.

Concentrating his aura in a thick coating on his spine and head he allowed it to be near rigid while letting the rest of it be malleable like clothing. Crashing through the branches, he twisted grabbing onto one mid fall. Swinging around he let go and slid across the dirt until he stood at the base of one of the massive trees.

He could see that the brown bark was scarred by the claws of the beowulf and he ran his hands over it. Smooth and nice to touch the wood likely would've made for a nice desk. While he waited for Blake to get off of her parachute, he might as well take a look around.

Carefully padding around the oddly grass covered floor, he wished he had his shoes or slippers or something! Hell, even the notorious and crappy Schnee-kers would be better than walking around on his bare feet!

Taking in his surroundings he considered feeling for living beings with his aura but decided not too. It would require too much effort this early in the morning with too few results. That ability would be near useless until he got his hands back on his helmet.

Looking through the thick and dense forest Jaune noticed a particularly large tree. Which was saying alot considering the fact that nearly all the trees here were forty feet tall and thick as a damn street! The branches continued _branching_ out and were covered in thick green leaves which were of a darker shade.

Running over to the larger than usual tree, he quickly hopped up it using barely and enhancement from his aura. Luckily the carving the grimm have done with their claws made a nearby ladder like contraption built into the tree.

Easily supporting his weight he balanced along the massive branch until he came to the end. Poking his head up from the top he looked around. Thankfully, he was above most other trees here. Looking to the left then the right he spotted the parachute on top of a tree. Or rather, stuck in a tree.

Leaping down from the branch and landing on a nice root, Jaune ran along the other roots basically wall running from tree to tree. Why you may ask? No particular reason.

Arriving at his point he looked upwards and nearly laughed as he was reminded of a very infamous cat poster. One which had the comical and uplifting caption of 'Hang in there.'

Struggling Jaune could see Blake there hanging maybe fifteen feet above the ground. Her parachute was stuck in the tree so she was dangling by the cords. From what he could see it was very uncomfortable.

"So… How's it hanging?" At the sound of his voice the angrily pulling Blake released the cords she'd been trying to remove. Stilling in the air she glared at him.

"That's not funny." She said before looking upwards at the cords. He took a moment to steel himself, after all, he was about fifteen feet underneath a girl who was literally wearing a yukata and some wrapping around her breasts.

From his calculations, they were C cups or so and even then bordering on the large side of such.

Wait, did he really just do that?

Quickly shaking his head before turning it into nodding he continued. "I thought it was hilarious! Well… If you didn't it seems like you'll just have to get used to it. After all, we are partners for the next four years!"

"Just get me down." Pouting again she looked at him.

Chuckling quietly to himself he jumped into a nearby tree balancing across branches until he got right above Blake to where the cords were tangled. Nope, no way he was untangling that mess!

"Um….."

"Are you having problems up there?" He shook his head despite knowing that she couldn't see him. While there may technically be a problem, there was no _real_ problem.

Grabbing ahold of two of the main cords with his hands Jaune focused. Feeling the palms of his hands rapidly heat up he kept it to a nice simmering heat as he built up energy. Coming to what was probably an acceptable level he funneled all residue and stored heat into his palms.

There was a muffled 'whoosh' and a snapping sound as the cords broke dropping Blake.

He looked down and dropped so that he was right in front of her. Wincing he looked down and lifted up his foot. There was a small rock embedded in the sole. Reaching forwards he picked it out before tossing it aside.

Jaune turned to her. " Alright. Any idea on what to do next? I mean, I did kind of fry our earpieces..."

Scratching his head sheepishly he looked at her as she undid the straps holding the parachute endings to her. Letting it come off Blake just left it on the ground before doing some stretches. "Well, what we should do first is find water. Then, we'll try getting our gear. Or of course we could do it the other way around… Actually, finding our weapons first makes more sense. So….?"

Her head perked up and he could've sworn he saw her bow twitch. Replaying the moment in his mind it was confirmed. Her bow had indeed just _twitched_ , meaning of course that his earlier observation from the sleeping hall was correct.

"Oka-" He was abruptly cut off when she raised her hand and shushed him.

Realizing that she obviously could tell something he could not, Jaune trusted her to do something as he stood there in a tense silence.

' _Could it be grimm? We don't have our weapons… I've got some firepower under my hood but what about Blake? While I'm sure she can take care of herself I'm not sure how good she'd be without a weapon. Or, maybe she's an unarmed fighter, apparently those are still a thing… I mean seriously, people fight grimm and have a high chance to die and they choose to NOT take a metric crap load of highly versatile weapons suited for all situations?'_

But really, that was strange.

Jaune had decided easily when he was young on what his weapons would be. A crossbow, a sword or more specifically a katana, a shield, and whatever firepower he could pack into his arms. Why so many weapons?

Well if your literal job is to go out and kill shit, what would you expect? If Jaune was to ever run out of crossbow ammo, he'd just switch to his sword or arms. He ever loses his blade? No problem, he could always switch to the bladed edge of his shield or use his arms.

There was a low chance he'd ever be out of ammo unless using a high amount for a very important fight, or used a small amount over a long duration of time. But that second option would only really happen in the event of a long and drawn out war between two kingdoms.

Being as versatile as possible was good. The grimm you're fighting is resistant to electricity? Well just melt them with intense heat then! Or the other way around! Every weapon he had was indeed acceptable, and not too much to carry.

In fact, with all the folding parts, it's likely that it weighs less to carry all that stuff than it would to carry Crocea Mors…. Yup, all the metals he used were nigh indestructible while light, basically mithril really. Though, mithril is mythical while his is real.

Jaune swears, if someone _does_ call him over powered though, he'd rip their throat out with their inferior weapons. Okay, maybe that was a _bit_ far… He'll actually end up just explaining things from his point of view.

Returning back to the moment when Blake waved her hand in front of his face, Jaune realized he'd gotten lost in his thoughts. Focusing solely on her he stared intently into her face waiting for her to speak.

She fidgeted uncomfortably. "We should get to the edge of the cliffs now. I think they just dropped something."

"What do you mean?" Looking upwards through the branches he saw some more parachutes. Or more precisely, enough so that there was one parachute for each person. They fell in pairs and looked to be maneuvering into the bottom of the forest rather than on top of the cliffs like they were.

"Nevermind, I see. Probably our weapons in there. Well, let's go!"

Marching off Jaune just trudged through the branches. As long as he remained positive and kept at the same pace he was currently doing, most grimm should stay away. Technically, being positive was a strength and even then, that positivity even if you know it's only an act, can still breed real positivity which would scare away grimm.

But that also raised the question: 'If positivity drives off grimm, then why don't people fight grimm by just having sex and feeling happy that way in front of them?'

He shook his head and watched as Blake began padding softly beside him. That was a question for another time. Now was time to get to know his future partner.

Deciding on what he assumed was an nice easy question he looked to his left and smiled at her. "So, what kinds of books do you like reading?"

Her cheeks darkened instantly as her eyes widened. Coughing into her fist, she looked upwards at him because of his superior height of seven inches taller than her.

"Some fantasy… Action. Maybe some stuff about-" She gave another cough. Man, she must be sick or something. He should check in on her later. "-ninjas. How about you?

Why did he have a feeling that that question was the wrong question to ask?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Ozpin hummed to himself quietly as he took another sip of coffee.

Reclining back in his seat he detached his scroll from the port and opened it up. Selecting his file full of live camera feeds he began taking a look as to who was partners with who.

From the cams on the earpieces he could tell that two of them were mysteriously off or damaged. That wasn't good… Either they were dead or they had broken on impact of some sort. Ozpin could tell though that all of his other prospective students were guaranteed alive.

From the cameras in the trees to the ones in the bottom of the weapons capsules he took a look.

' _Large group grimm to the west… It shouldn't get close though. Meanwhile that Alpha Nevermore? That could pose a problem. Then again, it isn't likely to.'_ Leaning back further in his chair, coffee in one hand, scroll in the other he duly noted that the elevator was moving. ' _So… We have Ms. Rose partnered with her Ms. Xiao Long… Surely a troublesome duo. Shall I inform Glynda of the impending troublemaking?'_

Chuckling quietly to himself he took another sip of coffee. Where was the fun if he informed Glynda!

' _Mr. Lie and Ms. Valkyrie… Had I not read their files I would think that her seemingly boundless energy would drive him insane.'_ Taking a closer look Ozpin took note of the expressionless face on the boy. ' _Hmmm. Maybe it already has. The tolerance isn't tolerance in that case, then he's just dead inside…'_

Swiping to another set of cameras he took in some more partnerships. ' _Ah, the celebrated Ms. Nikos partnered with Ms. Schnee. Surely to be a powerhouse in the school system, with their grades there's no doubt they could come out on top. Then again… There are always smarter and stronger people in the world.'_

Looking downwards he saw one of the last pairings for this group not counting that of Mr. Winchester's and Mr. Larks.

' _Ah, the genius and the White Fang defector. This is going to be interesting and fraught with peril and drama! Or of course, maybe one of them will just speak using reason and sort things out… But where's the fun in that? Oh well…'_ Humming to himself he took another sip of coffee. Realizing he was nearly empty he quickly activated his semblance and waved his hand over his cup. Draining in from somewhere beyond the bounds of existence his coffee mug was filled again.

' _It's going to be an interesting year indeed… Now, time to deal with Glynda, call Bart and Peter. It's time to do some more shipping! Ah, I totally feel it this time, I know deep in my bones that Mr. Arc will end up wit-'_

"Ozpin!" There was a sharp crack on the glass table top of his desk and he recoiled eyes showing brief fear before he reined it back in.

Glynda stood there looking quite cross as her hand reached upwards and yanked him into the desk by his tie. Noticing her knuckles were white from how hard she was gripping it he gulped. Wouldn't do to be killed by his own assistant!

Protecting the coffee he left it on the floor near his foot. "Yes?"

"Why in the name of Monty am I getting reports that you dropped a whole bunch of _sleeping_ kids off of a Bullhead!?" She said yanking him further into the desk. Raising her riding crop from his hesitance to answer he shied away and immediately telling her what she needed to hear.

"For initiation! R-really! I mean, what better way to t-test their problem solving skills than doing that! And you don't even _want_ to know how I got them there without waking them up!" Glaring at him Glynda let him go before repairing the cracked glass of his coffee table with her psychokinesis.

He grabbed his coffee cup and instantly drained it taking in the soothing liquid despite how it burned through his throat. Anything was better than an angry Glynda!

"Ozpin, you're going to drive me up a wall one day and I'll never come down!" She said turning away and turning back. "I mean really! Grow up! I get that this is all fun and games, I get that most stuff you deal with is serious but be real please!"

Huffing by the end of her rant Glynda smacked her riding crop into her hand several times before walking back and standing in front of his desk. "Anyways, how _did_ you manage to get all those kids into the Bullhead without waking them up?"

He smiled even though he knew it was a bad idea. "A really, really large drug cocktail."

He was right. It was a very bad idea to have smiled while saying that.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Blake gave a little smile. It had no real reason behind it, nor any real substance behind it but it was there. Which was odd, Blake knew for a fact that she never smiled. Maybe it was due to her upbringing and running away with people who never smiled.

Why was she smiling? Well, she wasn't all that sure herself. After being dropped from twenty thousand feet, getting stuck in a tree, and getting a new partner who just wouldn't stop making small talk, things really shouldn't be going all that well for the shy cat girl.

Yet things _were_ going well.

From last night, it seems like he knew she was a faunus or at least, someone who had something to hide. It didn't seem like he cared about it.

That is why she was smiling.

Blake had finally, upon making it into Beacon academy, met a Schnee, met a nice guy who seemed as socially dysfunctional as herself and into books, gotten a partner who was that nice guy and _didn't_ seem like a genocidal maniac, and at the same time met someone who didn't seem to care that she was faunus.

Of course, that last one only really applied if he indeed did know… But if the way he would occasionally glance over to her with a look of curiosity settling over her hidden ears meant anyways, it does seem like he knew.

Jaune was a nice guy.

Was the mysterious? Yeah sure, who with metal arms which shot flames out of their palms and fingertips _wasn't_ mysterious? But, he was only as mysterious in her eyes as she assumed she was in his eyes.

But now, while he didn't and would never really know about the White Fang and her, she would like to know about the arms. Those were in her opinion, a much greater secret to hide, or rather a more useless secret to hide.

For her it just didn't make sense.

Why hide something as mundane as a pair of prosthetic arms? Surely they didn't look too bad on her partner would they? Maybe she should just go and rip that long pair of sleeves off and-

Oh my, she must've been reading too much 'artfully done' literature lately.

' _No Blake! Naughty thoughts Blake! That's right perverted Blake! Go back to being deadpan and no fun now… Don't even consider looking at him with those sweet muscles and what could only be a toned body underneath those- Damn it!'_

Shaking her head she looked back towards the blond haired dork who was now her partner.

Thankfully, they've gone from making some small talk and getting to know each other to having a comfortable silence. They'd already scaled down the cliffs and were now simply looking for their weapons.

Speaking of which, it almost seemed like he was testing her.

Earlier, while in the air, he'd shown remarkable planning and understandings of physics to get them together and keep them together for the extended period he did. He'd also managed to figure out that the parachutes would open due to the earpieces, something she herself hadn't realized until he explained why hers exploded once they were on the ground.

It was obvious Jaune was a smart guy… But if that was true, why had he asked her what to do next when he could've easily come to the same if not a slightly better conclusion than what she had come to?

From what she knew, he could've done it too.

He has seven sisters but hasn't talked about his parents all that much. Her eyes sure went comically wide when he said _seven_ sisters! Blake couldn't believe it, how was his mother still alive!?

Apparently he was also rich, he hadn't said that but it was obvious by a couple things. For one, the way he carried himself. A near perfect example of posturing a princess would beg for, second the expensive looking metal his hands and arms looked to be made out of.

There was no way medical insurance covered those.

He was apparently some sort of genius too. Something he had said rather nonchalantly really. It was kind of… Nice? It wasn't in any way to be mean or him being condescending, it really just was him mentioning it.

It was nice to meet someone who didn't treat her like she was stupid just because she wasn't technically as smart as them. Adam, while never specifically or obviously treating her like she was stupid, oftentimes assumed she was more dumb than she was.

Continuing she watched as Jaune stopped ahead of her. Walking up to his side she raised an eyebrow. "Something the matter?"

"Nope." He responded easily with a carefree grin. "Just saw our weapons though. But now it seems to late to do anything with them."

Ah, the enemy of time. It'd become apparent as they scaled the cliffs that it was later in the afternoon than both of them had thought. It was now around eight o'clock and darkness was quickly approaching. It seems as though they would have to camp out for the night.

While they didn't have water at the moment, they should be fine until morning.

Sighing he pointed over to some tree's roughly thirty meters in front of them. Just as he said, the capsules were there beneath the trees. Made of what was likely aluminum, the capsules were of a strange design but seemed to withstand what they needed to to get down here.

Walking over the the capsules he checked out what could've been a nameplate on the side. Waving his hand over the top some steam came out of the insides and the sides flipped before retracting into the base of the capsule.

Blake raised an eyebrow at his weaponry. It was odd. Nothing seemed to go along with the other thing items.

She could see him take out what looked to be a katana in a dark black scabbard with what she could only assume was his family insignia on it. He took out what seemed to be a handle attached to a long crossbow, as well as a belt filled with what seemed to be magazines.

Letting him take out the rest of his things in peace, Blake went over to grab her own things. Inside her capsule was a set of fresh clothing, no pajamas, her trusty ballistic chain scythe, and three to four clips for it.

Taking out the clothing she could pick up using her enhanced sense of smell that it was freshly laundered. Ah, she always liked the smell of fresh laundry. Something about it was just comforting.

But then her eyes narrowed and she looked around.

Sure enough, there was no real place to go and get changed without the risk that he decided to peek at her. Then again, would he really do that? From what she's seen so far he doesn't seem the type to, though you never know.

Just like Blake, a major perver- A major lover of artfully done lovemaking in literature, you never expect it.

Turning to him she saw that he had come to the same realization.

Taking the sleeve of his pajama top, he ripped it off without trouble. Underneath was a matte black prosthetic arm which was in a faceted make as though parts of it were from a diamond. Noticing that she couldn't stop staring he looked her in the eyes before giving a cheeky smile.

"Like what you see?" Just like that the tension in the air dissolved as he flexed his metal arm for a second. Naturally no muscle came bulging out but rather a laugh came out of Blake's vocal cords.

"Now, I know I'm hot but ask before you stare okay? Now, I'm going to tie this over my eyes while you get changed okay? Then you'll do the same. We only have about half hour until it's too late to find firewood so get changed quick okay?"

Nodding she watched as he tied it around his head twice and for good measure placed both of his hands over his face, both to keep it on and to add as an extra layer.

But anyways, for even better protection of her 'dignity' she moved behind a tree before getting changed.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune smiled to himself.

Things were going well. They'd changed and begun making their way a bit deeper into the forest to find a suitable place to camp. Collecting firewood along the way Jaune grunted as he bent over into an awkward fashion to pick up another log.

Tossing it onto the pile he was carrying with his right arm, Jaune moved his other arm underneath before marching back off to find Blake. He was tempted to turn on his helmet so that he could see in the forest while it was dark, but there was only a limited amount of battery life on his helmet and it wasn't really all that dark.

Finding his new partner from the way she was softly, or rather, loudly humming to herself, he found her standing outside of a cave entrance. Dropping the logs by the entrance, he turned back to Blake and went to stand beside her.

She was looking at some sort of mural or painting on the wall of the cave.

Reaching a hand up to his chin he scratched it dully noting that he should shave later. "Okay, so there's a whole bunch of people shooting at a Deathstalker and chasing it into this cave. So…. If we want to camp in here we need to kill it."

He turned to her and heard her make 'mhmm' noise. "So, we going for it or not?"

She turned to him putting her hand onto the pommel of her weapon. "Well, it doesn't look like it's going to rain today so why bother?"

He raised a finger. "Because if we kill it, there's one less highly dangerous enemy _behind_ us, we have a place which has what is probably only one entrance. Really, it'd be easier to defend the cave than anywhere outside. The only thing we need to worry about is venting out the smoke from the fire but I can figure something out once we're inside."

Once again his partner hummed in acknowledgement. Good, she was open to facts and logical reasoning. If she wasn't he had a feeling there would be some real problems eventually like some sort of unnecessary drama right out of a soap opera.

"Okay. Well, let's get ready then and do this quick." There was a moment while they all checked out their gear before there was a growling.

Whipping out his katana fast enough to slide the air out of the way he spun slashing towards where the sound came from. Resting two centimeters in front of Blake his blade, Fate's Whip just barely stopped on time to not disembowel her vertically.

Blake was blushed and began to sputter excuses. "T-to be fair we haven't eaten breakfast and I'm getting really hungry."

He smiled before putting the blade away. "Jeez Blake! Learn to keep that noise quieter or something! I mean seriously, here I am thinking you're a ninja or something and you do that?" Jaune said in an obviously teasing voice.

Continuing to check out his equipment he made sure he would remember anything Blake missed.

Luckily, included in his capsule was his armor. He noticed Blake didn't have any but that was since she was probably trained without it so it would just be a burden. He meanwhile, was now wearing his full combat gear and totally combat ready!

Adorning his top half, was a night black thermal under layer which covered his arms completely down to his waist. There were navy blue portions around his torso and arms which were slightly raised compared to the normal fabric.

It was made out of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. Essentially, it was kevlar but lighter and much more flexible. But even then, over top of the raised portion, attached by built in magnets, were his armor pieces.

A dark grey compared to both his dark black thermal layer of pants and top, it was a nice contrast. Each piece was about an inch and a half thick, none of it touched so there was enough room for it to be highly flexible, but it wouldn't move under any circumstance until he deactivated the magnets.

Essentially, it was the perfect armor.

Strapped onto his waist at his magnetic belt, was Fate's Whip. The black scabbard shone dully in the moonlight and he could feel the handle and blade warming up as the rest of the handle glowed with a cherry red under lighting. Taking out the weapon again, he reached over to the right side of his belt where he kept the spare ammo clips.

Switching the one in the pommel from a fire dust charge to a lightning dust one, he put it back in the scabbard. Now the cherry red under lighting changed to a bright, almost neon yellow. Quickly activating the shutters to stop both the light and energy from escaping he left it at that.

Taking out his crossbow he allowed the limbs to spring out the sides. Loading in a new magazine of ice ammo bolts he placed the crossbow, God's Battle, also known as Lucius Dei, back onto the magnetic strap on his back.

Feeling ready he turned to Blake.

She was looking quite good in a stylish-I'm ready to kill monsters-way. With a black buttoned vest with coattails and silver button over top of her white, sleeveless high necked crop top, she looked ready. The white shorts with the two zippers on each leg didn't make all that much sense to him but that's fine.

Apparently fashion never made sense to him according to his sisters…

Looking down at those black tights going onto purple the closer they went to her ankles, and on towards her black heels, he couldn't help but admire those oh so wonderful legs. Looking back upwards and hoping she didn't catch him staring, he took a look at her loose black scarf and then nearly chuckled.

She was wearing her makeup in the fashion of the 'cateye' style.

Which was funny. Because she was a cat faunus.

That's right he knew! How could he not! He'd noticed a while back that she had no problem seeing in the dark while she struggled, Blake could hear the capsules dropping while he couldn't, her bow was in _perfect_ triangles!

Perfect triangles to do naturally for a bow is impossible! Besides, they looked like ears anyways!

Not to mention her quiet catlike demeanor and grace, or her abnormal amber eyes. Since Jaune just so happened to know a bunch of useless facts, he knew that amber was the rarest possible eye colour for a human! So unless she was an anomaly or very _very_ lucky, the only way those eyes made sense were if she were a faunus which had the eyes in a more prominent and common manner.

That being: the cat.

Shaking his head he made sure that he would remember so that they would talk about it later. Besides! What better way to bond than to give out secrets one could use to blackmail the other!?

Feeling ready he nodded to Blake. "Alright let's go."

She stopped before they entered and he knew what it would be about. Stopping the urge to roll his eyes he turned back to her. "Something the problem Blake?"

"Don't we need a torch or something? Yo-We need light in there don't we?" She asked feigning complete innocence. Well, he wasn't a General Legune.

"Blake, we both know you don't need light to see in there. _I_ don't _really_ need it since my helmet has got night vision installed." He turned back to the cave and reached upwards towards his ear. "So thanks for considering me, but no thanks."

Blake nearly stopped in her tracks by the time he's begun. "H-how did you know?"

Rolling his eyes he listed the qualities he's pointed out. The eyes, the personality and grace with that part making her blush, and the perfectly made up bow. Afterwards he could've sworn she was a sheep faunus from how _sheepish_ she was looking.

"Okay. So… Uh, are you… Okay? With this I mean?"

He laughed. It was a long one which was strange considering it wasn't really all that funny but then he just shook his head before smiling at her. "Blake, if I wasn't okay with it, I wouldn't bother leaving the house. You and me are more alike than you think."

With that he pressed his mechanical finger onto his earpiece like object. Folding out, the highly thin, specialized pieces of metal begun unfolding coming upwards to create a helmet around the entirety of his face which shone with a silver sheen unlike his regular armor.

With the glowing red eyes, built in ventilator, and the cool insignia he had painted on the forehead he looked cool as shit!

 **(You can just imagine Star Lord's helmet from 'Guardians Of The Galaxy')**

She looked at him with something new then. Curiosity most likely. It was not obvious that she didn't understand what he meant from that last statement but that's alright. After all, don't girls like a little mystery?

Turning on the night vision mode, he heard it powering up as a layer of green came over everything outlining it in a way which wasn't necessarily nice, but in a way that would do.

He could hear Blake mumble something even without enhanced hearing as he stepped into the cave first. "Well someone's very perceptive."

"I _am_ very perceptive Blake, thanks for the compliment! You meanwhile are very beautiful." Turning back to the cave he forged his way forwards not even thinking about the offhand compliment he just paid his partner. Wasn't it just polite to compliment someone after they compliment you?

Not noticing her blush at his comment, he continued on wards waiting a moment until she ran forwards getting his back.

' _Good, now let's get going.'_

Scanning the cave he saw a puddle on the ground and pointed it out before continuing. Stepping over and around the larger puddle, he found himself staring at something which, much like the light on the angler fish, was used to attract prey.

Of course that was in complete darkness, now, Jaune could see perfectly fine.

The huge towering form of the Deathstalker was greater than anything he could've imagined and he almost worried they were out of their league. Keyword: Almost.

Whipping his arm to his back to grab out his crossbow he avoided the front pincer. Kicking into the back stinger, he managed to raise his voice. "Let's go Blake!"

She sprung into action leaping acrobatically over him and behind the Deathstalker letting loose bullets as she did so. Digging into the soft flesh beneath the stinger it flattened its tail whirling around.

Ducking under the stinger he shot a crossbow bolt at it purposefully missing. One went flying past its head making it recoil before it shot forwards attempting for a grab at his body with it's pincers but he back pedaled smacking away a pincer with the barbed tip of his carbon black coloured crossbow.

Giving off a terrible screech he could've only assumed was worse on Blake's end, he watched as she continued jumping upwards. Jumping off of some sort of shadow construct which only could've been explained using her semblance, Blake dug her ballistic scythe into the stone at the top of the very large cave.

Swinging around, whenever it focused on Jaune, Blake would shoot it in the back. While the shots didn't do much to hurt or damage the hard white and red bone plates on the back of the Deathstalker, it did keep it disoriented.

His face twisted into the same twisted grin he had while battling. He loved the adrenaline in his veins, the fire in his blood, the blade or handle in his hands. It was _perfect_.

Shooting at it's legs he got one of the back ones through it's underbelly before having to roll away. Rolling to the side wall he shot another crossbow bolt into the stone floor where he was standing.

There was an absence of noise. Blake must've been out of ammo. Releasing a ear splitting screech which nearly robbed him of the ability to think, it echoed throughout the cave which made it obvious that… Let's call him Pete the Deathstalker noticed as well. Must mean he's intelligent for a grimm. Which explained his size and told Jaune his age.

Swinging around Pete smashed his tail into the path of Blake's next swing. Letting go, she fell past it twisting out the way. Sadly she landed out of the pan and into the fire so to speak.

Landing in between the front pincers, Blake was instantly crushed. His heart stopped and his eyes widened. He felt a pain in his chest he didn't know was possible as he could just imagine how her splattered remains would come out from between the pinc-

There was a battle cry and a slash as the Deathstalker recoiled in pain shaking violently. There she was, Blake standing close to the Deathstalker unloading a full clip from her SMG into its eyes all eight of them.

Ah, in that moment of panic he'd forgotten about her semblance. As his heart felt like it begun beating again for the first time ever he took in deep breaths of the filtered air through his helmet/mask.

Deciding that while Blake was distracting it he could get the rest of the bolts into position, Jaune shot some more. Two into the ceiling in the rough center, or rather two sides of the center, of the large, or rather, very large and circular cave.

Shooting one more onto the wall directly away from the entrance Jaune's grinned returned.

This was what he lived for.

"Blake! Get to me now!" Sprinting using his insane amount of speed to the center of the room, he put the crossbow back onto his back, retracting the limbs. Whipping out Fate's Whip, he extended his shield into his left hand.

The black scabbard swirled open into a round rondache shield which was four feet in diameter. It was light and highly effective, basically indestructible. There was also a blade which would come out of the edge to whirl around like a chainsaw.

As Blake ran over, she made several more clones behind her which were crushed by the now rampant Deathstalker as it went running towards her and him together.

Holding his ground in the center of the room, he twirled around Fate's Whip several times in his right hand before tapping into his semblance. Pressing the mental button, the mechanism activated.

The blade fell apart. The puzzle piece like segments detached from each other as the four foot long katana turned from a katana into a eight foot bladed whip. The inner cord which held it all together shone with a neon yellow light.

Nearly blinding himself, he turned off the night vision on his goggles and feared for Blake's eyes before realizing it would be fine. Twirling the segmented whip over his head with increasing speed, it eventually began crackling with built up lightning.

Blake landed beside him with all the grace of the cat and he looked down at her not stopping his twirling for a second. "You nearly gave me a heart attack just now."

"Well, now we're even." Punching him lightly on the arm he winced in fake pain and smiled. It was nice that they could joke around while facing down a gigantic Deathstalker which was absolutely determined to kill them.

Reaching out further into his semblance he continued the twirling. Feeling the crossbow bolts embedded within the walls he slowed his perception of time, watching as it all unfolded.

 _Arc_ -ing outwards, the yellow lightning dust inside of the crossbow bolts all discharged all at once. There was a bright flash as it streaked across the sky, now reduced to the speed of sound rather than light so he was just able to watch.

The crackling lightning along his blade was joined with the various _Arcs_ of lightning as it intensified, the six bolts making it go well over the safety.

The Deathstalker was nearly stopped in mid-dash as charged towards them foaming at the ugly mouth. It was riddled with bullet markings which did nothing but ping off its armor, the black skin of the negative beast looked as dark as a sky without stars, the red of its eyes burned with a hatred and also of an intelligence.

He quickened the pace once more and swung his arm forwards whipping towards the Deathstalker in real time.

Lightning shot from the tip in an arc of lightning which was blinding in it's destruction, the sharp deafening crack following it drowning out any noise for seconds later.

There was a an odd sizzling sound and the smell of what he knew as flesh melting and burning to a crisp. Energy discharged he retracted the blade back into it's katana form and put it back into his shield turned scabbard once more.

Turning back on his night vision he almost wished he didn't and seeing it was almost as bad as smelling it. Still alive, the bone mostly melted as it burned through the black skin of the Deathstalker, it was there screeching as its skin bubbled and popped.

Fighting the body's natural urge to retch he took off his helmet and the smell instantly intensified. Turning to Blake he put the earpiece into her hunched over form and pressed it watching as it molded to fit her head instead.

Now breathing easier she gave him a 'thumbs up' of gratitude while she continued breathing heavily, hands on her knees. Walking back over to the Deathstalker by sound alone except for the faint light coming from the stinger he took out Fate's Whip once more.

Standing three feet in front of it's face he stood there looking it in the eyes and quirked an eyebrow. There was no way it could kill him now unless the Deathstalker somehow gained the ability to stare him to death…

Scratch that, it looked like it _was_ trying to stare him to death with the way it was glaring at him.

Raising the blade over his head he funneled some of his still bountiful aura into the Hihiirokane of his blade and watched as the warm sunset colour changed to a brilliant stark white of his aura.

"I'm sorry Pete. I hope you taste nice, we need to eat so don't dissolve too fast okay?"

With that the blade came down and the tortured life of Pete the Deathstalker was ended for good.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Oh no! Rest in peace Pete… Rest in peace.

Seriously though, let me know how that was. Typed about seven thousand words of it today starting at eight in the morning and finishing at about nine at night. But! That's just because I get really side tracked. So yeah, sorry for the two week delay but I'm sure you can understand exam! Besides, summer time now. Meaning that I can write more! Yay!

So please, check out my new story ' _The Woman Whisperer'_ leave a review, send condolences for Pete the Deathstalker and have a wonderful day folks! Now, time for responses!

 **Review Responses:**

 **Frank Horrigan:** Yup! I mean, while aura is indeed useful, it's best to have _some_ sort of armor covering the important bits which would for sure kill you if they were to tank a bullet without your aura. Hence, the Kevlar.

 **BadHum3r:** Ugh, I know right? Exams suck majorly! It's fine though, summer started and I've got time to write now! Yay! But anyways, listen, technically _everyone_ with aura can slow down their perception of time. The katana? It works with his fighting style which is mainly speed based. Also, no he is not famous, simply good in chess tournaments and I don't think anyone here knows the name of one chess champion. Also, he is not understood, simply socially inept since people with higher IQ levels have lower EI levels making them bad at interacting or having empathy. Sympathy though isn't all that hard to achieve with IQ.

 **garoorar:** Yeah… Ozpin's a major dick, and I'm a major asshole. What with him doing that to them, and me making him do it.

 **desdelor97:** Thanks mate! It's always appreciated.

 **xXgabeXx:** I too am one of the people who believes Blake is the best waifu. If I'm being completely serious, the picture of Blake on the cover of RWBY is what got me to watch in the first place. Those legs are just so nice! Also, no the metal is not Stalinium (xD).

 **1st Dragon King:** Sorry… Also, just no! No puns unless it's me! Or well I guess any of you. After all, it's a free country.

 **Jack905:** Good to hear you were serious! I thought someone had a problem with it and it was driving me mad! (In the crazy way not the angry way.) Thanks for telling me.

 **Gravenimage:** Why thank you, thank you very much.

 **That guy:** Yeah, unless you play or have played a 'Deus Ex Machina' game a few tech references will go over your head. Also, thanks for pointing out the edginess! I had no idea I was doing it. I also, funnily enough due to my own not being up to date with the newest lingo, didn't even know what edgy meant.

 **Saint Danielle:** Yeah, 'Criminal Mastermind!' is easier to write consistently but we've been over this all in a PM. I wrote most of this chapter in one day, in one sitting, so it should be kind of better? Also, yes, I'll be going into that point you've made with the Dating Sim story. Not very quickly or soon, but it will be gone over.

 **NinjaFang1331:** Thanks!

 **littlejason8:** And I love you! But yeah, I just like doing those little parodies of things from real life since it's fun. Pretty sure I have a list somewhere…

 **Flaming Author 22:** Thanks! We've gone over my idea a bit together in PM like usual, and I'm pretty sure we've gotten yours sorted out eh? Personally I think the idea we've come up with for yours will be a big hit.

 **Guest:** Did I ever say he hasn't made a visor? It's all in the helmet my friend! All in the helmet.

 **AgentDraakis:** Well, using a metric crap ton of drugs! Seriously, I mean, if _I_ was sleeping and then shot up with or inhaled enough drugs to tranquilize a horse, I don't think I'd notice myself moving that's for sure! Cinder was indeed introduced early, but think for a moment: Did Cinder really need to infiltrate Beacon in the first place? The answer is no. While it indeed helps creating a cover and witnesses to show she wasn't there for the CCT it's unnecessary. Next, no the dreams have Cinder in them, not Salem. I honestly don't know where you'd get Salem from… Thought that it being Cinder was obvious but oh well… Anyways, thanks for liking the whole way he conceptualizes things. I mean really, if you're that smart, surely you must look back at all the other smart people who've fucked up and think: What did they do wrong that caused their downfall, and what can I do to avoid it?

Well, see you wonderful people! Time to go and sleep!

 **-DragonManMax**


	5. Chapter 3

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."**

 **-Arthur Schopenhauer**

 **Note:** Hello! We're back for another chapter! Yay! Typing all of this on Thursday/Friday/Saturday! Wooo! By the way, this, right here is seven thousand words. Which is going to be the average length for most chapters. If I can go above I will, but I'm aiming for eight thousand a chapter. Why? It's much easier to write that way... Sorry if you're expecting gargantuan chapters.

Now, I would like to address something though… People are saying Jaune is way too OP. But let's think for a moment, is he really? I've gone back and watched RWBY again and none of them took a single hit from a grimm until the Nuckelavee (Not counting the Deathstalker hitting Pyrrha in initiation.) Ruby can swing a scythe which she technically shouldn't be able to lift, Blake's arms haven't ripped off by her crazy bow swings, and Weiss' ankles didn't break when she landed on her glyphs for a landing strategy. (Not mentioning anything Nora's ever done.)

So tell me, how is it that Jaune taking three minutes to set up the crossbow bolts, spending another two minutes to charge an attack which _didn't_ kill the Deathstalker outright OP? Hell, if Jaune had gotten the bolt at the wrong angle, rather than hitting the blade, it would've hit him and turned him into barbeque!

I'm not sure if I simply misunderstand how people think a five minute setup time for an attack which wouldn't kill it outright is OP or not, but I know it's not! Five minutes in battle is a long time. A _really_ long time.

Okay, so sorry, enough ranting… Just had to shout a bit, please forgive me. Anyways! Back into the story!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter III**

* * *

Jaune quickly began cutting into Pete's decaying body before it could entirely dissolve. In quick slices, he managed to get the best parts of the body which weren't already fried to a crisp from the lightning bolt earlier.

Hefting the huge chunks of meat to where Blake was already setting up an fire, he gave a brief shudder before suppressing it. There would be time to bitch and moan later.

Moving them to the fire, Jaune set up two logs on either side where they hopefully wouldn't fall from the way they were vertically set up. Leaving the hunks of meat on the ground of the large caverns as the shadows danced thanks to the fire, he took out Fate's Whip again before sticking it through the chunks of meat roughly in the center.

Noticing how there was only a short amount of time before the Deathstalkers body completely dissolved along with this food, he put Fate's Whip on top of the two logs horizontally before gently turning it over so that he could hopefully cook it through.

It would by no means be good... But it might be okay?

He scowled as it began smoking and just took it off before depositing the meat on the ground to dissolve. Damn it! He gave Pete one job, not to dissolve. What does Pete go and do? Dissolve! I mean for fucks sake couldn't he at least have been courteous to the guy that killed him!?

"Sorry… Guess we're going to bed hungry tonight. Ugh…" Jaune groaned out as he took a seat ten or so feet away from the fire. He was well within the circle of light the large fire was giving off, but most of the heat dissipated by the time it gets to him.

"It's not the first time." At that he quirked an eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean? "So, you want to talk or?"

"Wow _Blake_ is offering to make conversation? Is the world ending?" Jaune joked getting a small glare before she took her own seat about five feet ahead of him with the fire at her back. "Hmmm… We could all spill our deepest darkest secrets!"

He got another glare and deflated. "To be clear that was a joke…"

"It wasn't very funny." She said before giving a small smile which suited her apparently shy nature perfectly. Though, he has noticed that despite being shy she was a rather sassy gal.

"Why not? It's only not funny if you've actually got deep dark secrets!" Jaune said getting a laugh as he poked fun at her. But who knows, she may really have deep and dark secrets. Turning totally serious he turned to her. "But really Blake. If you're hiding something that could put yourself or I in danger tell me okay? Because I promise I can help. Trust me when I say an Arc never goes back on their word."

Blake gave him a grateful smile. "I just may take you up on that offer yet… Though, knowing it could make you hate me." She looked down at that last part, likely out of guilt if his small amount of social skills were picking up on it correctly.

Scooting closer despite the now close vicinity to the fire, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Blake, there are very, _very_ few people in this world I hate. Or more specifically one. Trust me, I won't hate you because of your past okay?"

Once again a silence. It wasn't comfortable but it wasn't a hostile silence. It was the kind of silence you get when there's about to be a really important decision made.

"Promise."

"Pardon me?" There was a very definitive tone to her declaration. Or, would that be an order? Oh my looks like there was some sass behind her calm exterior indeed.

"Promise that you won't hate me. And! That you'll tell me what happened to your arms!" She blurt out rather quickly despite her reserved nature before looking back down at the ground and gently running her fingers through the sand. Obviously she never heard the saying 'And the curiosity killed the cat.'.

"I, on my name as an Arc, promise to not hate you, Blake Belladonna, for your past? Is that fine?" She nodded and he continued. "Also, my arms were completely destroyed when a psycho bitch invaded my home, killed my servants, put my dad into a coma and then burnt all the nerve endings in my arms to the point where they needed to be amputated. Shortly after, my entire home was a smouldering wreckage."

"How are you even alive?" She managed to sputter out the shock or rather, what he liked to think was awe, clearly stopping her from processing her speech normally. "Surely you must've been bleeding pretty heavily or something! I mean… Just wow."

"Good to know I've wowed you Blake! Also I'm alive because I've got a lot of money, some very good doctors, and had a very convenient pile of snow outside the second story window." Jaune said rather nonchalantly as though stating what was on the breakfast menu at KFSchnee.

"O-okay. If you ever want to talk about it I'm always open." Blake stated looking at him with pity. No, that wasn't pity. It was respect. He was being respected for surviving. It felt good. _Really_ good actually.

Much better than the pity most people looked at him with.

"I'm fine thanks Blake. The three years of therapy already got me more or less right in my head!" Jaune said. Yup, bluntness is always the way to go when retelling the tales of your dramatic childhood. "Now, while I'm sure your story telling was going to be great, can you try making it as blunt as mine? It helps make it easier to say."

"I'll try." Blake straightened up a bit before leaning back on her arms. "Tell me, have you heard of the White Fang?"

"Blake, I may be socially awkward but I'm not stupid. I've heard of the severely misguided faunus rights group." He said, slightly joking with the misguided bit. "Totally peaceful until about six years ago when they started becoming more violent with the stepping down of their main leader. Now, they've begun more of a terrorist organization than a faunus rights group."

"Well. I used to be a part of the White Fang. I was also technically kind of born into it." She stated rather bluntly. Good, they were off to a wonderful non-emotional start. "I had a friend back when I was young. I thought of him like the one guy who could actually _do_ something about our situation. And technically he did."

"Blake allow me to guess for a moment to spare you the need to explain." Jaune said before leaning back himself and letting out a sigh. "So your friend comes in like a knight in shining armor to the discouraged and hungry civil rights group filled with ideas and ideals. Then he finds out that the world sucks a massive dick, and gets all broody about it. Then he decides to become leader, and severely _misguide_ the faunus away from the whole peaceful protest thing and instead get equality through fear?"

Blake nodded going silent for a second before continuing tracing her finger absentmindedly through the sand of the cavern floor. "I was with them up until a few days ago. I shipped my stuff out, bit by bit. Then, I applied, and got in. After that, I left at an opportune moment, and here I am. Almost feeling like the entire world is against me sometimes."

"So why would I hate you?" Jaune asked rather plainly. From what he saw, there was no reason for him to hate her at all. He wasn't a racist, that much was obvious from before and he wasn't about to start hating her because of a shady past. "There's no reason for me to hate you Blake."

"What do you mean Jaune? I caused panic, I raided warehouses, I nearly killed people just for-" Blake began listing out the apparently many crimes she's committed on the behalf of terrorists for what she believed in but was abruptly cut off when he but in.

"For equality Blake. Equality, is not something you should regret killing over. Really, it's a good cause to fight for and the fact that you were fighting for it makes me proud to have you as my partner." He said looking down at her. "Trust me, I wouldn't hate you over something as lame as that. Besides, you've left right? I doubt you're here in Beacon to tell a dashing young man like myself your life story before slaughtering him and all his human counterparts… I couldn't hate you if I tried Blake."

"J-Jaune." She was going to say more until he pulled her into a hug with her face gently resting against his shoulder. He could feel her pouting if that was possible while he looked over her shoulder and into the flames. "You ruined the moment."

"We're having a moment?" He said giving off a laugh as he gently stroked her back holding her against himself. Her form was nice and soft in his hands while being warmer and safer than a fire ever could be, while having a lean feeling which was not at all unpleasant and made him curse his hormones at the same time..

Hugging Blake was… Nice. Just nice, nothing amazing or fantastic, and certainly nothing like what the books inaccurately described. But nice. Nice indeed.

"Not anymore." She said though he did notice that she'd stopped her struggling and was now kind of reciprocating the awkward sitting hug. Letting out a sigh she relaxed into it some more.

"Hey Jaune?" Blake asked rather meekly from his chest.

"Yeah?" He asked adjusting his face a bit feeling her soft hair against his cheek.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me when all I did was clarify things Blake."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

They'd alternated watches for the rest of the night. Blake would take the first four hour watch, he'd take the four hours afterwards. He's gotten his helmet back now and was just kicking out the remains of their fire before waking up Blake.

With that, they'd gone back to hiking through the woods, bellies rumbling after needing to go to sleep without food the previous night. He gave a groan. Hiking with no food sucked! Majorly sucked to be more accurate.

Aiming for anything to distract himself, Jaune decided to get to the first order of business he was going to propose to his new team anyways. "Sooo Blake… How do you feel about yoga?"

"Yoga? What about it?" She asked turning and raising a quizzical eyebrow and making it look good on her beautiful face. Which was impressive considering not even he was able to pull off.

"Well are you opposed to doing it? I was thinking up a training regime our team should do when the semester _officially_ starts and I was thinking of adding yoga to it." He explained. Yup! The training regime would be hell but they would be all the faster, stronger and more agile for it!

"I suppose I'm not against the idea… Though, it depends in what order we'd do it in compared to the rest of the regime. Also, if this is just an excuse to see me in yoga pants, you'll be sorely disappointed." She said chuckling.

"Blake, nobody leaves disappointed if _you_ were wearing yoga pants. But no, it really will be a thing. Yoga is good for aura control as well as flexibility, and it will likely come before _and_ after our workout." Jaune replied back easily smiling now that he's managed to fluster her with his yoga pants comment. Her face was a red which could envy the artificial red of Ruby's cloak and she just walked along in silence avoiding his eyes.

Ah… This was fun. While he may be blunt as a rock, flustering people wasn't all that hard!

Hell, what he said was true too!

Stopping himself from fantasizing and zoning out to think about Blake wearing yoga pants, Jaune shook his head quickly before continuing ahead.

"That sounds fine then. May I suggest something though for the regime?" Blake said finally composed again. It took her less than eight seconds but he was sure it was the longest eight seconds of her life.

"By all means go ahead."

"We should do parkour. Or free running." She pointed out. Really, that was actually quite the good idea.

"Thanks Blake. I'll add that in. Though, we'll have to do it on alternating days if I was to add that… Which is fine. I'll tell everyone the rest when we officially have a team." Jaune said already planning it out in his mind.

"We're here." Blake pointed out getting him out of his thoughts.

Looking upwards he realized that they were indeed at their location. Jaune had received a message that morning upon waking up and checking the HUD on his helmet. It gave them an image of their current location, as well as a marker as to which general direction the forest temple was in.

So, they set out to find it.

The next step was to collect some sort of relic from that location, and then return to the Beacon cliffs to the west of the temple. Should be simple so he wasn't all that worried about it. He assumes that the idea is to find both partners _and_ teams along the way.

In a brief clearing from the otherwise all encompassing forest, there were gigantic grey stone blocks making up what used to be the floor of the large round structure. At one point there had been pillars going around the outside and were likely holding up a roof, but now held up nothing and several of the pillars were toppled over.

Moving forwards, he didn't say a word to Blake knowing that she'd follow him inwards.

The closer he got, the more he could see of the ruins. All across the pillars were small squiggles which were likely some sort of religious script or something similar… Really it was just likely anything of importance which needed to be kept save.

On various pedestals around the temple there were things that Jaune easily recognized from his many tournaments and hours online using them to defeat other people.

Chess pieces.

There was one on every pedestal. Four knights, four rooks, four bishops, two queens, two kings, and sixteen pawns. There were half of each was a different colour than the other half. For instance, eight pawns were onyx black and in a pattern like his arms, refracted or crystal-y. The others were all a smooth gold which was tacky but nice anyways.

Walking over to the center he slowly turned taking it all in before turning to Blake again. He's figured out the simple puzzle. If you could even call it that.

"So Blake, what would you like to be, and who do you want on our team?" He said gesturing to the various onyx black pieces on the pedestals. "A queen of Vale? A king of Beacon maybe? Or even a lowly pawn serving her superiors?"

Blake raised a single pale hand up to her face rubbing her chin as though taking him into serious consideration. "I always wanted to be a queen."

"Then you shall be my lady!" Grabbing the onyx queen he tossed it to her before going and grabbing the golden version and tucking it into one of his very few pockets. "Now, the people we _want_ on our team will get this one, and they'll be on our team."

Blake gave a nod, signifying she could hear him before quirking her head upwards and he watched how her bow twitched. Yup, she sure is a cat alright.

"Do you hear that?" She asked him raising an eyebrow.

"Uhh no? What is it?" Jaune asked as he sprung open his mask and began looking throughout the trees around the clearing.

There was also a cliff leading to some sort of tower, but it wasn't important right now.

"I sounds kind of like 'Look ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut!'" Blake said purposefully drawing out the 'out' of the sentence. Wa-

"Oh crap!" Looking straight upwards, his HUD automatically locked on to the bright red and black falling object as it… Well, _fell_ towards him.

Looking upwards and putting out his arms, he tried judging where Ruby would land and began running around eventually stopping somewhere in the middle left of the clearing which was a nice open area.

Moments later Ruby was in his arms in a bridal carry as he was on one knee. Deciding to be suave and slightly increase his chances of getting a girlfriend at this school, Jaune moved his head around in a circle before saying.

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

For his troubles Ruby's face went as red as Pyrrha's hair and she began fidgeting in his arms while at the same time staring into his eyes with her own rather wide.

"N-" There was a small voice crack before Ruby coughed into her fist and crossed her arms. "N-no! Yes? Maybe!? Doesn't matter put me down! You need to catch Yang!"

Putting her down he tossed her the golden queen. "Sure thing but first, welcome to the team Ruby!"

Then he began sprinting across the field to the middle _right_ of the clearing. Putting more aura into his legs, Jaune slid across the ground to get there in time catching Yang also bridal style and her arms automatically came around his neck the second she was caught.

"Jaune?" She asked blowing a bit of hair out of her face revealing those warm lilac eyes.

"The _pun_ and only!" He replied back cheekily. _This_ was what he's been mentally preparing for!

"Oh mama likes! You single? I can tell that you're quite the _catch_." Yang said wiggling her eyebrows a bit before leaning in towards him getting _much_ further into his personal space than was acceptable.

Though, he didn't say he didn't enjoy being that close to a gorgeous woman!

"I can be single if you want me to be." Jaune winked at her playfully as he would to one of his sisters or a random person. "Though you've _caught_ my eye for sure!"

Yang let go of his neck as he stood up and she leaned back giving him a wonderful view as her more notable assets rotated a bit. Rubbing her hands together she summed up what he was thinking quite nicely.

"This year is going to be so much _pun_!~"

Gently, he let her down onto the ground before Ruby came over having recovered from his previous comment. "Jaune are we really going to be on the same team?" She said holding out the golden queen in front of her as though it's her key to happiness.

"Yup!" He said before ruffling her hair. "Well, since we're all going to be a team, let's introduce ourselves shall we? All formally and stuff too!"

Blake walked over, the onyx queen now tied to her waist using a wrapping from one of her arms. "Blake Belladonna."

Ruby hopped a couple times before extending her hand in what would be the most awkward handshake ever. "Ruby Rose! Nice to meet you Blake!"

Taking her dainty hand in her larger one, there was a brief and flimsy looking shake which was just weak but Blake still gave Ruby a smile which was returned rather brightly. So they went around one by one introducing each other to everyone, Ruby even reintroduced herself to Yang despite Yang being her sister which got a few laughs and made him smile.

Jaune reintroduced himself to Blake before giving her a little glare after she made a show of wiping her hand afterwards. But it was all fun and games, introductions done, Jaune turned to what would be his team. Or rather, the team he's on. The leader would likely be anyone _but_ him.

"Oh, by the way… Where did you guys fall from? Surely you weren't drop-" Jaune began asking before getting cut off by Ruby's youthful and excited voice.

"Oh that? Nothing huge, all we did was fall from the back of a giant Nevermore." Ruby said giving another few hops before whipping out her giant scythe and flipping up the scope turning and gazing somewhere into the sky nearby.

He nodded. "Yeah okay… No- Wait. Did you just say fall from the back of a giant Nevermore?

"Yup! See look! There it is turning around!" Ruby said as though it were no big deal and Jaune whipped out his own crossbow looking in the general direction before his eyes locked onto a black spec.

Flipping up his scope he changed it to ten times magnification and took a closer look noting that yes, it was indeed a giant Nevermore and yes, it was indeed coming back that way.

Just then, the world went crazy.

There was a muffled explosion to that of which he turned towards, just in time to see a massive Ursa falling out of the trees surrounding the clearing. An apparently very chatty girl with ginger hair zipped around it before climbing on top of it, and to the backside inspecting it before claiming she 'Broke it' while the raven haired monk from yesterday had shown up behind her huffing. He was likely about to chastise her for breaking her apparent pet Ursa.

For a moment Jaune was reminded briefly of Pete the Deathstalker but quashed that thought before guilt could manifest… It's true that naming something makes it ever so much harder to kill.

To the other side of the field there was a sound of ice freezing over before a stark white form landed beside them leaving him to blink for a moment before smiling at the now more human form of the blur.

"Ah hello Weiss! Care to catch up later?"

"Oh. Hello Jaune. Umm.. Sure? Can we talk about catching up later _later_? My partner is kind of being hounded right now." His previous fiance said before turning to the forest she'd used her glyphs to escape from.

Charging out of the bush came around thirty or so Beowolfs chasing down the one red and bronze figure he could just about barely make out as Pyrrha Nikos. Her ornate greaves began to glow with some sort of black lighting which was barely visible in the bright sunlight before her legs began pumping in a way he assumed was impossible.

Apparently Yang was not liking the ongoing chaos as she quickly underwent a transformation similar to his own when his sisters ate the last granola bar… Except more violent with fire surrounding her body in a way he found was remarkable similar to the way it had in the club.

He would have raised an eyebrow but decided not to. Bringing up the fact that apparently the fun lover of the group didn't like chaos was just asking for trouble so he remained more or less silent.

Yang apparently did not have such restrictions as she promptly exploded. Both literally _and_ metaphorically!

"CAN EVERYONE JUST BE NORMAL FOR LIKE TWO SECONDS WITHOUT ANYTHING CRAZY HAPPENING?" She screamed as she was enveloped in fire which somehow didn't harm her in the slightest, which was impressive considering that he could feel it from here.

Counting two seconds in his head, he watched as Pyrrha was hit and came flying before rolling across the ground. Managing to roll into a crouch and stand up by them, the girl from the Ursa as well as her green monk friend also came to stand by the group.

"THANK YOU!" Obviously feeling much better now, Yang was beginning to calm the glow receding out of her golden hair like rain rolling off glass. "Okay what's the plan?"

Taking in the fact that the Nevermore was turning back around, Jaune ignored every suggestion by anyone else and noticed every miniscule fact as colour faded from the world and time slowed.

' _Technically, we've completed what our objective was and now we simply need to return to the cliffs. Lose the Nevermore in the forest? Possibly. The feathers wouldn't be able to pierce the dense foliage as easily as they'd be able to pierce the human body, but I'd prefer having it where I can see it. That way I'd know whether it was about to attack or not. Not to mention the Beowolfs would be an entirely different story once we enter the forest if I add their enhanced sense of smell along with the ability to sense negativity to the mix. I'm not sure quite how much but I can only assume we'd ooze enough negativity for them to find us like I'd be able to find a discount in a tech store… What we need to do first is either kill, or get rid of the Nevermore. How? We could ground it by taking out the wings but the likelihood of any of our weapons being able to take them down is low… The bolts from my crossbow could be good for hampering but only if I'm able to pierce the steel-like feathers which isn't possible from this distance. Ruby has some sort of sniper in her scythe but once again we're too far away, from point blank one of our weapons could easily dig in though… I don't have any lightning dust left to do what we did to the Deathstalker and I highly doubt Weiss'd lend me some. It also seems like nobody else use- Why does nobody else here use dust except for Weiss, that ginger haired girl and I? It's the hunter's greatest advantage c'mon guys! Fire? No that wouldn't do anything. What we need to do is get close. If we head to the ruins further along the cliffs, maybe we can scale that tower and hop on. Though there's also the Beowolves… Okay, got the plan!'_

Turning to the thirty slowed down Beowolves as they began stalking forwards in some strange pack formation which was original to their species of grimm.

"Everyone run for the bridge and clump up as dense as possible okay?! Weiss listen for my call you'll get the idea when you need to!" With that he began running towards the bridge through the ravine. It was heading to the large tower which was the second largest part of the plan, the first part would be taking out the Beowolfs!

There was barely any reluctance as the ginger haired girl dashed into the ruins and grabbed the 'rook' while Pyrrha ran in and did the same. Weiss tilted her head at him slightly at him before she too began sprinting beside him causing the others to truly break out of their stupor and also began running alongside them.

There was adrenaline pumping through his veins as they approached the bridge. The second he got there he popped his helmet open and took in the measurement and speed of the Nevermore along with the approximate size and began to do the math.

"Ruby! Fire at the Nevermore! We need to slow it down for eight seconds okay?" Ruby complied quickly flipping up her scythe and taking aim at the 'torso' of the avian grimm. The shots only pinged off but it was good enough. "Everyone else! Clump up near the beginning of the bridge as close to the Beowolfs as possible! Don't let them get further than nine meters away!"

Taking out his katana Jaune popped open his shield and charged into the fray slicing the ankles of two Beowolfs. Blake came to his side taking out one at his back before he jammed his shield into the skull of another one pushing it back into the waiting claws another one before he turned it into whip mode slicing it across the torso.

Dashing forwards he backhanded it with his shield before turning in the air and switching his katana into a reverse grip making it solid once more before slashing its throat and jumping back to where Weiss was already preparing a glyph.

Clever girl.

Just then the Nevermore screeched and the entire squad, now having pieced together the general gist of the plan made the final adjustments to the positions of the Beowolfs and were all clumped up in front of them.

The Nevermore unleashed it's feather barrage and Weiss' anti gravity glyph took effect as they were a few meters away from the surface of it making them fly towards the Beowolfs slicing them to ribbons in seconds. What weren't were quickly finished off by both Blake and the green monk as they ran through the maze of razor sharp feathers unloading with their apparently built in smgs

Turning to the rest of the bridge he made a 'come on' gesture with his hand before they all ran towards the tower leaving Blake, the green monk and the talkative ginger girl to take care of the rest of the Beowolfs. He'd prefer to have the grenade launcher he could sense in the bubbly girl's hammer for this but he'd have to do without.

As he neared the large and ornate stone tower, he noticed the wooden door was basically falling off it's hinges. He turned to Ruby about to say something but she already got the idea. There were four gunshots as the old rusted hinges were destroyed and then a large crashing noise as the rotting wood was destroyed on the stone bridge.

Running inside, he looked at all the stairs and was going to tell Weiss what to do but she was already on it. Casting a series of anti gravity glyphs and time dilation glyphs vertically into a column he watched as Ruby appeared inside of it surrounded by falling rose petals.

Being launched upwards she went into the above darkness of the tower giving a cute little 'woop!'. Weiss shortly followed before Jaune ran in followed by Pyrrha. Yang came up and a pair of aviator sunglasses mysteriously appeared on her face despite the fact she hadn't had them on earlier.

Was he missing something?

Jaune felt weightless as he gently floated there for a moment before pushing off the first glyph and crashing through the second one. Feeling himself speed up faster than even then what is normally possible, he flew upwards thanking whatever was up there for his helmet.

Just imagining him running into a spider at these speeds with his face made him shudder.

Landing at the top on a stone platform, he ran out of the side window and onto the ledge where Ruby and Weiss were already unloading onto the Nevermore, Ruby with her sniper rounds and Weiss with ice bolts which coated along the wings of the large avian grimm.

Crashing towards them, Jaune took out his own crossbow loading in his own ice bolts before he too took up a spot beside Weiss and shot towards the eyes of the grimm not quite hitting. Pyrrha came up next switching her blade into a hunting rifle and she began shooting towards a torso before Yang came up.

"Yang throw Ruby!"

"Gotcha boss!" Yang said before hefting Ruby up with an suprised 'eep!' and chucking her towards the Nevermore scythe first.

She flew forwards spinning into the Nevermore leaving rose petals in her wake as her cloak wrapped around her and she spun towards it at a super speed. Hooking her scythe under its neck the second it decelerated, she dragged the massive beast somehow through the air as they fell together.

Yang gave a grunt as she unloaded some shells from her weapon letting the empty cartridges fall to the earth before she flipped out some more and loaded them in seconds. Launching some more fiery shotgun salvos towards the artery connecting the wings to the body, Yang stopped the Nevermore from shaking/blowing Ruby off it's front as they crashed into the cliffside of the ravine.

Giving a twirl, there was an empty click as Weiss used up the last of her gravity dust making glyphs along the cliffside which would draw Ruby and the massive Nevermore body towards it to keep her running on it. Ruby did _not_ disappoint!

Running up the dense gravity glyphs at full speed, she activated her semblance the moment they reached the top bursting into a series or rose petals while her scythe helped the Nevermore along with its process to divorce it's head.

The massive body came falling downwards in the hushed silence of the ravine as the gunshots stopped, and Ruby reappeared at the top of the cliff with her scythe on her shoulder and hood up as she looked down at them.

That's so badass!

Turning to Yang he looked at her. "Well, it looks like that grimm is _nevermore_ coming back."

"That one was really bad. Just, leave it to me okay? Though, laughing is appreciated." Yang said giving him a wink before they began walking back down the stairs of the tower. He gave a laugh at the and scratched the back of his head a bit.

They were done initiation and it seems like his team was going to be good as well as fun.

This was going to be a good four years.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Ozpin looked over the footage with a satisfied smile before taking a sip of his coffee. Reaching out with his finger he swiped across the screen of his scroll to the other initiates. Most of them have collected relics and made teams by now. Which was good… Really good actually!

Nobody had even died when falling at the beginning! Not that he would've let them of course. He had Glynda on standby the whole time in case something got too serious, but it was good to know that his assistance wasn't necessary.

Taking the various initials, he began putting them all into their own documents on his notes program and begun brainstorming team names. God, why did being a headmaster have to be so hard?

' _Hmmm… JBRY? Jazzberry? No don't be ridiculous! That isn't a colour… BRYJ? Beige? Well, that kind of leaves out the R… Damn it! Let's try last names… ABRL? Damn it, why do two of them have the same initial for their last names as their first names!? What were their parents thinking? Let's try a mix shall we? How about… Ah fuck it I'll just let Glynda handle it.'_

Quickly typing up an email, he turned on some special settings so that it would only send his whole naming predicament to Glynda after she left his office, he looked up as there was a ding at his elevator.

Taking his coffee cup in hand he looked at Glynda as she walked into his room, her heels click-clacking across the glass floor as the gears below churned away. "Are those my reports Glynda?"

"Yes Ozpin. I don't know why you're insisting on reading over the first year files though for this. Surely a third or fourth year would better suit the role." She said placing the various files on his desk before standing in front of it tapping her riding crop on her hand.

"Because Glynda, I'm hoping to find a diamond in the rough so to speak. While a fourth year is surely better than a current first year, the potential of a first year can be greatly increased." Ozpin said flipping open the first folder and looking at the name. 'Yang Xiao Long'.

Giving a sigh Glynda took the defeat. "Just make sure you choose the right person this time Ozpin. Last time your choice was acceptable. This time it must be extraordinary."

Ozpin gave a smile as he browsed through the various other names on his desk. "I'm not even sure if it has to be this time Glynda… A series of events has just started and will lead to the ends of Remnant no matter who I pick. Though, who I pick can indeed decide which ending we reach."

Getting up from his desk he pressed the button to send the email before grabbing his cane and walking with her to the elevator. "Now… We have a ceremony to prepare for."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** There we have it ladies and gentlemen! So sorry it was a day late, but writer's block is like the damn apocalypse. Just ruins absolutely everything! I had a good flow, woke up on Friday morning with six thousand more words to write and just went 'screw this' and only wrote three thousand.

By the way, if any of you think the whole conversation early on between Jaune and Blake happened too fast, here are some facts to chew on. Blake told _Sun_ a complete stranger her problems after what, a day? Who knows, he might've been a White Fang operative out to get her the entire time but she trusted him with her _entire_ backstory after what? He saw her ears? Yeah, _that_ doesn't make sense.

Mind _does_ make sense. Why you ask? Well, Jaune's already noticed she's a faunus in minutes of meeting her. In fact, it was basically within _the_ first minute of meeting her showing that he'd likely be able to piece together some sort of past. Also, since he'll be her _partner_ for the next four years, it does make sense for her to tell him so that way he knows what she's gotten herself into.

While it may seem like it was going to fast, Blake went much faster with Sun.

Anyways, happy Canada 150 everyone! Woo! (Pops popper thing!) Have a wonderful day and please leave a review! Speaking of reviews, here are the responses to last chapter's.

 **Review Responses:**

 **NinjaFang1331** : Thanks!

 **AgentDraakis:** Yeah… Also, oh god the pun why!~ Maybe I'll have him name more things… Not too often though.

 **BarkingFox:** Let's all have a moment of silence for our beloved enemy Pete Peterson 'Deathstalker' Petesburg…

 **NugiSpringield:** Yeah… Though, if Pete was stuck in that cave his entire life, what has he really contributed to the cycle?

 **desdelor97:** Thanks again mate, always appreciated!  
 **Fellowman:** Don't get me started! Fucking writers block is the worst damn thing that ever could exist! I hit it every time before things either get 100x harder or 100x easier to write! It's a huge, _huge_ pain in the ass!

 **1st Dragon King:** It's true. Jaune is basically Genos, except more of an Adam Jensen/Genos crossover along with Jaune in there.

 **xXgabeXx:** See the rant in the beginning authors note to know how I feel about that comment.

 **Flametusk:** I'm not sure if telling you what happens in chapter five is even beneficial anymore… You know, since we've just finished that.

 **Flaming Author 22:** No I don't think grimm would be good to eat. I would bet money on the fact that they're way too salty or something.

 **That guy:** Yup! You know that saying right? Some people have changed 'one true pairing' to 'Ozpin's True Pairing' when it comes to the RWBY fandom! I thought it was a very clever play on words.

 **Guest:** Yeah it's Jaune x Blake. Also Jaune x Ruby, Jaune x Yang… Not sure about Pyrrha. I mean, I've been on a complete emotional roller coaster (not really) about how I feel about her character. I mean, I like her and think she's wonderful, yet at the same time don't think she really brought any real… Substance? If that's the right word, to the series you know? So I might switch out the Pyrrha x Jaune to Pyrrha x Weiss. Besides, there's very rarely a good Jaune x Weiss on this website and I think I'd be able to make an… Okay one at best.

 **7ima:** First off, your reviews here don't make sense… Second off, yes he indeed uses a katana as well as a shield. Why? Because I fucking said so. Third, what the fuck does 'Wields 7 foot mecha shifting Scythe/high cal sniper like it's paper mache, but Jaune's katana... hooh…' mean? Fourth, if you'd like to leave go ahead. I'm sure as hell not clutching you by the testicles and forcing you to read this.

 **The Archmage:** Hahaha! Your review made me laugh quite a bit as I pictured that scenario… The worst thing is that I can completely see Blake doing that to Jaune one day. You know, he attaches nuclear missiles or a energy blade from Halo and she just doesn't care… Oh Blake, how I long for you despite all your strange angsty silence! I'd give… Not quite sure what I'd give to have Blake be my girlfriend but you can bet it'd be something important!

Okay… Enough of that… Well see you all later and happy Canada Day!

 **-DragonManMax**


	6. Chapter 4

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **Talent perceives differences; Genius, unity."**

 **-William Butler Yeats**

 **Note:** Hello!~ Oh man! We've got a (finally) easy chapter to write for me! No coming up with my own shit, no complicated fights or conversations I need to write and rewrite just to make them seem good, just good 'ol fashioned school.

Well, it's about time I get onto it eh? But first, I'd like to say something… And no, this time it isn't a rant! Surprisingly…

Okay so, it seems as though some people are still confused about the pairing in this fic. Which is understandable seeing as most people _here_ haven't read the original and therefore do not know about the poll I had done and things…

 _This story is a harem fic. The harem will consist of:_ _Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha._

But here's where things get tricky… _I personally don't like Pyrrha all that much._ Was she a nice character? Yes of course, really she was. Is she good looking and perfect girlfriend material? Probably… Since I feel this way, I'm not entirely sure that any Arkos I write will be able to come close to how fluffy and nice some of you would want it to be.

 _That's why I'm thinking of replacing Pyrrha's spot with Weiss._

I'm setting up a poll as I write this. Please, vote in it and let me know how you feel in a review, but please be cordial. Being impolite simply angers me and I really don't appreciate people who think shouting will make me change how I write what I write.

Anyways… Here we go!

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter IV**

* * *

"Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long… Together you will make up Team Aubergine." Ozpin said before gesturing to the large screens above them.

There were various forms of clapping or cheering as the pictures of their faces came up and arranged into the order of the people mentioned with Jaune coming first, Blake coming second and Ruby coming third, followed by Yang coming last. Following that, there was a single letter outlined in red before being filled in.

"Led by Ruby Rose." At this Jaune himself gave a whoop before clapping as loudly as his mechanical arms and hands allowed him. Which, wasn't very loud as it was drowned out by the rest of the audience despite the fact he was right beside her on the stage.

' _Ah. I knew the leader wouldn't be me. But it makes sense. She or Blake probably have the least charisma when it comes to leading… Then again I don't really have charisma, more like just a simple thing where people follow my orders. Probably due to the fact that they can feel how decisive while speaking it… But that's besides the point. We're officially a team. Though, I don't know why he chose Aubergine as the colour… I'm not a huge fan of eggplants after all. Though, maybe Ozpin was simply hungry while thinking up colours.'_

They were the last team to be presented at the ceremony. Before them, Weiss, Pyrrha, the raven haired monk now with the name Ren, as well as the ginger haired talkative girl with the name Nora, had been made into team Lavender spelt LWVN which was a combination of both last and first names. It doesn't _really_ work but his team wasn't much better. They were to be led by Lei Ren, the green monk who seemed forever stoic and patient.

His pals Cardin, Sky, Russel and Dove made up Team CRDL or cardinal. Oh boy, Jaune could only imagine what that'd do to Cardin's ego. While he was much better than some years ago, Jaune was sure he'd never let anyone forget that the entire team was named after him if only an augmented version of his name…

Turning to the rest of what was now his team, Jaune looked down at them from his superior height. "So let's check out our rooms then?"

There was a whole bunch of nods in agreement. It's been a few hours since they finally finished scaling back up the cliff and making their way back to Beacon and oh what an ideal that was! There were fights and puns and Jaune learned that he should never _ever_ do anything to Yang's hair.

Well, while she's paying attention of course.

As the rest of the assorted new teams and higher years began dispersing through the hall towards the various exits, he took note of everyone's face before compiling his own thoughts on what would likely be their strengths and weaknesses when it came to the weapons department.

Then once he took note of their weapons, he tried guessing semblances.

Most of the time, people got weapons which corresponded with their semblances. For example, take Ruby. Her weapon is fucking huge. Seriously, it's way, _way_ , too gargantuan for her to be using.

But thanks to her semblance, it isn't that big of a problem.

By accelerating herself or a single limb or part of her body, Ruby can generate _momentum_. This momentum can then be transferred to force as she swings her scythe at these intense speeds allowing her to use the normally clunky weapon with deadly accuracy and efficiency, despite the rounded edge and longer than usual shaft.

Or as another example… Yang, sure let's go with Yang. They'd discussed what Yang's semblance was on the way back and he'd immediately noticed the connection.

Her weapons were a pair of shotgun gauntlets going under the name 'Ember Celica'. The gauntlets were likely chosen _after_ her semblance was found and not _before_. It makes the most sense to use the gauntlets since gauntlets allow for her to get closer to the enemy than any other weapon available in the arsenal save for the butter knife.

Since she's getting so close, there's a high chance she'll get hit and even then the force she generates herself from hitting things is transferred through her aura and into the powerhouse that is her semblance. WIth her semblance allowing her to take all these hits and return them 'better than in kind' it's extremely efficient to have it set up that way.

In short, Yang did something _smart_! Which is surprising considering he didn't expect her to be the 'planning out' type. Well, he supposes it does make sense that she'd choose something good for her combat. After all, she'll be using those gauntlets for the remainder of her career.

But anyways, you can see why he'd be noting down their weapons, faces, and possible semblances.

Slowly they began making their way out of the coliseum-like structure and they were greeted with a pleasant sunset over the Beacon academy. The trees gently swayed in some wind, and the moon was already visible in the early summer sky making him marvel at its shattered state.

Without a word, they began marching back to the dormitories. They'd (thankfully) been given an hour to eat earlier in the cafeteria so they wouldn't be needing to make any more stops. Today would simply be about the new teams heading back to the dormitories and unpacking.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

They'd arrived at their destination a few minutes later moving through the halls, the large arched ceilings of the imposing stone hallways echoing their every step and breath. The hall was slowly turning from large ceilings of stone into smaller more hotel-like hallways with doors on either side in a nice dark wood which was the perfect feel for the place.

Seeing that this was the branch both team's rooms were on, they walked down it together until reaching near the end of the hallway. There was a large window at the end that he could tell was overlooking the internal courtyard of the dormitories.

It was a well lit hallway, the same deep wood making up the doors made up the floor, and they were identical save for the red shaggy carpet going down the very center of the hallway all the way down to the window. It was also surprisingly well lit considering that the ceilings were only about eleven feet now. Though, that could likely be attributed from the lights every four feet down the hall.

Jaune turned to look at his room.

The very last room on the right was Team Aubergine's while the very last one on the left belonged to Team Lavender. Both had identical doors except that for his own room the handle was on the right and the hinges were on the left, while for the other room, the hinges were on _that_ right and the door handle on _that_ left.

Turning his feet on the red carpet to face towards Team Lavender, he looked at Weiss and their assorted team before nodding. "See you guys tomorrow for breakfast?"

"You can count on it Jaune-Jaune!" Nora said speaking for the whole team before Weiss opened the door giving a nod as well. Nobody looked opposed to the idea so he simply smiled watching them walk in and hearing Nora's gasp of awe.

At this point of course Ruby was bouncing up and down with excitement while even Blake looked slightly giddy. Gulping ever so slightly fearing whatever it was that could've made Nora gasp in awe he raised his scroll and the virtual key went into the virtual lock as the door opened with a silent swinging noise.

Jaune could feel the rest of his teammates walk in behind him and begin to do the same taking in what would probably be their room for the next four years.

Directly across from the door was a window framed with red drapes overlooking the Beacon cliffs that were on the ocean side. Just below the window was a dark wooden bookcase which looked able to hold more than enough books for _this_ motley crew. Inside was the same dark wooden floor that the hallway had along with cream coloured walls going up to a high ceiling.

To the right of the window pushed against the same wall as the window were four single person beds that could maybe fit two people if they slept on each other. They were covered in red sheets that were simple yet comfortable looking. The frame looked to be made of a dark oak wood and had drawers built into the base under the mattress. They had about four feet of space between each bed so that people wouldn't bump into each other when they got up.

Directly across from each bed with a few feet of space between them were desks the same wood as the bed frames that had a few shelves over it and drawers down the sides. They came complete with brown leather chairs on wheels.

Against the rightmost wall was a stylized brown door the same as the one to the hallway that if Jaune had to guess led to the bathroom.

Meanwhile on the left side of the window was a small portion of the room which had a high backed red couch that looked like it could fit the team but there was also a matching loveseat on one side in case anybody wanted to sit alone. In front of the couch was a coffee table that was a brown wood like the desks with a unfilled vase on top. Mounted on a wall was a large holo-tv that was really just a larger version of a scroll. All these things (Minus the wall mounted TV) sat on a red shaggy carpet that looked really quite soft.

So soft looking in fact it took most of Jaunes self control to not flop down onto it and just rub his face into it!

Ruby didn't quite have the self control and neither did Yang so that's what ended up happening. Both of them were sprawled on the carpet somehow making the inhuman jump of eleven feet to the carpet. Both rubbing their faces into it he couldn't help but wonder if they were secretly half cat fau-

Wait, Blake's a cat faunus. Shouldn't she be doing the same thing.

Turning to her he raised an eyebrow which she immediately met with a glare powerful enough to have him shaking in his boots.

"Don't even think about it Jaune." She said before walking over to the side of the room where their luggage was put by the Beacon staff. "Now, let's choose beds and get unpacked."

Rolling his eyes at Blake's serious demeanor of which she went about this, he went and grabbed his own luggage before walking towards the bed closest to the wall and plopping his stuff on there.

Unzipping the bag, he put all of his clothing into the appropriate drawer under his bed quickly before taking his various packed books on the sciences and 'How To Be A Hunter: For Dummies', he put them on the desk across from his bed and placed his scroll also on the charger.

Apparently the others weren't finding it so easy to unpack.

Ruby had somehow whipped out Crescent Rose and gone to town on the drapes slashing them diagonally and was now worried trying to make sure nobody noticed by using grey duct tape along the ripped bit.

Oh Ruby, bless your innocent soul, but duct tape stands out against red drapes.

Blake's somehow managed to run out of space for her obscenely huge amount of books on her desk and in the small book case under the window so she's resorted to opening up the air duct to keep her books inside of.

Or maybe they were simply books she didn't want anyone else to read?

Yang had somehow managed to put up a poster crooked. How one managed that… He didn't know but it was driving him fucking nuts. Seriously. He was prepared to go over there and set that damned 'Achieve Men' poster on fire with nothing but his burning hot hatred for all things crooked.

Sighing, he walked over to Yang's poster and ripped off the tape placing it back on the bed. Moving it over to the wall the door was on, he put it on the side which had the T.V and couches on it. This from now on would be the poster shelf! Though, it kind of looked sad with only that poster.

Oh well.

Walking over to the book case underneath the window sill, he pulled every book off of the shelf before arranging them in order from size, and whether they were paperback or hardcover. Managing to get a bit more space on the shelf, he let Blake take care of the rest.

Walking over to the shredded drapes he raised an eyebrow at Ruby. "What were you even trying to do here?"

She blushed before poking her fingers together. "Well I was just thinking that they'd look better cut up… I was wrong." She said with a pout by the end.

Rubbing the top of her head like he would to one of his sisters despite her little agitation at him ruining her hair, he just looked towards the drapes.

"Yeah, they don't look all that great… We can probably just buy a new pair later, or go to one of the rooms for visitors and steal their drapes." He pointed out just sighing while he pulled the duct tape off of the drapes.

"That's mean! We can't just steal from the visitor's rooms!" She said giving him a punch to the arm which he didn't feel in the slightest.

"Well think about it Ruby. We're not _stealing_ … Think about it like this, these drapes belong to Beacon. The drapes in the visitor's rooms belong to Beacon. We're simple moving one pair of drapes to where another pair is. Technically, Beacon still has them!" He said correcting her.

 _Technically_ they weren't stealing! It's like this. A person has two toasters, one of the breaks. Somebody then takes the broken one and puts it where the still working one is, while that person takes the new one and puts it where the broken one was. Nothing's getting stolen! Just moved!

Ruby rubbed her chin gently as though contemplating how morally correct that was and whether it would actually be all right to do that or not before she came to a decision. " Well, I guess that's okay then… But! If we're stealing _I'll_ have no part in it!"

He just sighed again. "It's not stealing! It's just switching two objects which are still owned by the same person!"

"Tell that to the judge Jaune!~ I for one, won't be kept responsible when you get arrested for stealing drapes!" Then Yang of course decided to throw in _her_ two cents making him a bit annoyed now!

"It's not stealing! What don't you guys understand about that!?" Jaune said raising his hands in exasperation. Why couldn't the understand the simple fact that they _weren't_ stealing?! Technically…

"Can we just go to bed now and figure it out in the morning?" Blake, the voice of reason in the group said before sitting down on her own bed which was beside his. So, second from the wall. Ruby's was after hers, and Yang's was after that nearest the window.

"I guess so…" Grabbing his pajamas from the drawers under his bed he moved over to the bathroom and began getting ready for bed.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Waking up Jaune's eyes slowly blinked open before he looked over at his scroll. It was mounted on his desk but he could see from here that it said the same time he usually woke up.

'06:00'

Yawning and wishing for just a bit more sleep, he lamented about how it wasn't to be… After all, it just wouldn't do to be late for class on the first day would it?

Stretching his arms above his head he felt his back pop pleasantly before he lowered them again looking at the smooth yet not smooth black metal which made up his arms. Going through the usual procedures to check that everything was in working order, he took off his covers silently padding onto the carpeted floor.

Reaching down into the drawers built into the bed frame, he pulled out his freshly pressed and ironed uniform before making his way to the bathroom.

The bathroom was surprisingly _not_ brown or red and had some grey stone patterned tiles that made up the floor. On the left of the door was the closet where the four box hampers were alongside the extra sheets and towels that they would need when they decided to wash their current bed sheets. On the right side of the door was a long white marble counter with two square silver sinks built in with two handles one for hot water, one for cold water. The stupid sinks with the one handle controlling both temperatures always pissed him off.

Right above the counter was a large mirror which was expected in basically all bathrooms nowadays. At the end of the counter built into the same wall as the counter was a simple yet effective toilet that probably did everything it was meant to do. Which was flushing things.

Obviously.

Right across from the toilet was the shower which went down the wall until the closet. It could probably fit two to three people in it if the were squished up against each other. Though he did wonder why more than one people would need to fit in a shower.

Crazy interior designers and their strange showers.

Turning on the shower and stepping in behind the frosted glass, he let out a nice sigh as the warm water and just general heat touch his body as it seeped into his bones. It was always pleasant to feel the water cascading down his skin in the mornings. Especially after a good marathon of training or staying up late to study for his advanced physics courses.

Shampooing his hair using the best shampoo and conditioner all in one in existance, 'Golden Ecstasy', he let the shower come to a close before grabbing a towel and patting himself dry making sure to get all the small indentations in his arms where moisture could've seeped in.

It was slightly unnecessary since it's almost entirely water proof but where the arm connected to his shoulder was especially susceptible to water damage. He'd have to work on that in the future.

Then came the rest of his routine. A small smidgen of cologne on the wrists and neck, combed back hair before making it purposefully scraggly, some light clipping of his toenails, and brushing teeth.

Finally done, he got dressed in the Beacon uniform.

He was now dressed in a black pair of slacks overtop of his totally not embarrassing white boxers with hearts. Cliche? Possibly, but they were comfortable. Black socks going down into a pair of black shoes the school's provided him with. There was a white dress shirt tucked into his pants buttoned totally correctly which had a azure blue vest over top.

Over top of the said vest was a black blazer with an orange trim which nearly matched the red tie done nicely which he had tucked in under the vest.

Buttoning up the first button of the blazer and testing out his range of movements in it, he lowered his arms satisfied. There was a low chance that anything would cause him to need to fight today except combat class, but you never know.

After all, a man must always have some tricks up his sleeve.

Ha! The puns! Get it? Tricks up his sleeve? Because his arms have all these hidden functions and things? Oh jeez Yang would've loved that one! Now if only she loved hi- What is he thinking!? Damn hormones! Curse you Ozpin trapping me in a room with three other lovely and beautiful women for the next four years!

Sighing, he walked to his desk before grabbing a piece of paper. Writing that he was heading to the cafeteria he left the note gently on Blake's face before only slightly raising his eyebrow in an practiced motion at the way she slept.

Blake, rather ironically, slept just like a cat would. All curled up, she grabbed all the blankets pooling them around herself in one huge ball-like structure. He chuckled softly at that. Jaune's partner really was a cat at heart.

Well, in body too but you wouldn't know looking at her unless you're very perceptive. Sadly, she wore the bow to sleep. Seems like another thing he'd have to clear up with her before the semester is done. Can't have her hiding forever.

Note done, he grabbed his satchel and made his way out of the room.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

From his room it was a bit of a walk through the school to the cafeteria. It was slightly cold outside the room but that's fine. Winter was over and the beginning of spring has come so it was likely to be wet for the next while…

Ah, the curses of being a Valean.

Arriving at the cafeteria, he stood in line grabbing a set of waffles from the lunch lady before also picking up a Pep-Schnee and some assorted melon and berries (since the watermelon is a berry he does sadly have to classify that his bowl had both _melons_ [melons in this case being of course: honeydew, canteloupe] and fruits in this case.).

Was it bad that he was having a sugary drink for breakfast? Yeah… Did he _really_ care all that much? Nope!

Cracking open his text book in one hand while popping the side of a waffle into his mouth with the other, he also withdrew the regular number two pencil before setting them down on the desk. Making a quick list of things he'd have to do before the year is done with his left hand, he finished up the waffles and returned the cutlery and tray before sitting down at the table and just resting his head on his arms.

There was going to be another couple minutes until the girls woke up… Classes start in another hour. Ah, what to do… Take a nap? Not enough time for a _real_ nap. Besides, he was feeling well rested enough for class. Peoplewatching? Nah, that's boring after a while. Scout out where classes were? That too is boring and would only take him a few minutes since he's memorized the map of the school and his orientation.

Sighing he decided to just sit there in silence and think.

Ah thinking. One of mankind's greatest gifts… Sadly, not many people use it to their full advantage. The ability to truly think, and free will, are the two greatest gifts to mankind. Without thought there could be no progress, no advancement. Without free will, there could be no want or desire for more, no burning passion to survive.

So there he thought.

Thinking of everything that crossed his mind, eyes closed in concentration but not forced shut. Simply shutting naturally. Thoughts whirled by slowly categorized into what he needed to know now, what he would need to know later, and what he'll never need to know.

He planned out conversations, guessed the reactions and responses of the people to the best of his abilities coming up with various answers for each response. Jaune planned out the morning, the first day of classes, how most things would go, where he would sit, stand and learn.

Shaken out of his thoughts by the light scraping backwards of a wooden bench on stone tile his eyes opened to see Blake sitting across from him at the table.

"Good morning Blake. I trust you slept well." He said placing his hands on the counter again running the carbon fiber over the smooth wood.

"I did thanks. How was your morning so far?" She asked back easily cracking open a book before digging into her cereal. He noted the title was something about ninjas but couldn't quite make out the last bit due to her hand covering it.

"Fine… Woke up early, got a head start, did some thinking." He said before leaning forwards onto his hands slightly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Yang is taking a shower and Ruby needed to grab something from her locker. Apparently she forgot something there last night." She said to the gentle scrape of paper on paper as she flipped her page.

"Ah all right." He said before leaning back and letting out some air. "We've got half hour until class starts. How early should we leave here?"

"I was thinking as soon as I finished my cereal." She said taking another scoop as emphasis. Well, she could've just been eating, but it was more fun to think that she did it just to emphasize her point. "What class do we have first?"

"We've got Grimm Studies, History, and then Combat Class. Tomorrow we have Field Study, Dust Study & Practice, and Mathematics." At that last one she let out a subtle 'ugh' making his eyebrow shoot right up. "You don't like math?"

Blake looked at him incredulously. "You _do_ like math?"

"Well…Yeah! Math is great. Think about what we'd be able to do if math didn't exist." He said letting some of his condescending bits get into his voice there. How could she not like math!? It's the basis for everything!

"Nothing. My point exactly." The genius said raising his fake glasses. "Without math, we wouldn't have literature, music, architecture, any sport, computers, a working economy, or anything important for progress and self expression Blake."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." She mumbled putting away her book before she dug into her cereal some more.

"No Blake but you _do_ have to respect it." Jaune said before getting up.

Time to guess what Yang and Ruby liked for breakfast…

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

After trying to choose food for two teenage girls and sort of succeeding, Yang and Ruby begrudgingly and quickly ate their breakfast before they headed to the Grimm Studies room. They had it with a Professor Peter Port.

Stepping into the class and noticing that they weren't the only ones there, they took their seats leaving spaces open for their buddies from Team Lavender on one side. They sat in the order of Ruby nearest to the steps going down into the class from door, then came Yang already snoozing on the table from an apparent 'lack of sleep', then Blake who was reading that book he still didn't know the name of, and then Jaune.

A few moments after Team Aubergine was settled in and ready for class, notebooks out and everything, Team Lavender came in in full uniform looking in pristine condition like a whole bunch of action figures straight out of the box.

Plopping herself down beside him Weiss gave him a nod. "Hello Jaune. How are you today?"

"I'm fine Weiss, how are you?" Ah the courtesy they were forced to act with.

"I'm doing swell thank you for asking. Jaune, this is my partner Pyrrha. Pyrrha, this is Jaune." Weiss said gesturing besides herself where indeed, sat Pyrrha.

"Hello!" Pyrrha said in a singsong voice. Her crimson hair was tied behind her in what he could only assume was her signature style of a pony tail. Jaune also took notice of the blatant dress code violation of the tiara in her hair.

Then again, maybe that wasn't that big a deal… After all, one of his Team's leader never took off her cloak while one constantly wore a bow.

He caught her extending a hand to him and shook it firmly noting how her eyes widened at the sight of his metal. Smiling he ignored any pity he could've seen in her eyes. Now was not the time to go on a whole mental rant about pity.

"Nice to meet you Pyrrha." He said before turning back to the front of the room and then changing his mind to look at the doors. Slowly more people were filtering in and he caught Cardin's gaze giving him a wave which was reciprocated.

Then Cardin pointed to the two people Jaune was talking to and started making kissy faces before turning around and doing that thing where you hug yourself and pretend you're making out. Shaking his head with a grin her turned back to the front of the room again.

"So… Jaune. How do you and Weiss know each other? You seem friendly enough but-" Pyrrha began to ask turning to him while he focused on her emerald eyes.

Weiss' stark white ponytail swished before she turned to her own partner. "We met under some… Strange circumstances. We had a bit of a falling out but it wasn't either of our faults. Now to keep up the public image we need to simply act cordial and nothing else."

"Ah come on Weissy! You can't keep it bottled up forever! Just tell us!" Nora piped in her boisterous and constantly happy voice waking up Yang who bolted upwards. Of course this gained Blake's attention as well as Ruby's so he let out a sigh.

"We were engaged for a short while nothing huge." He said to several gasps along the row except for Ren who just blinked slightly. Immediately Ruby was asking how it happened, Blake was raising a well maintained eyebrow, and Yang was teasing. "Since I'm the heir to a large company, and she's the heir to a large company, they thought it would be a good idea to have us marry and then merge the companies in the future."

Weiss rubbed the bridge of her nose with two of her fingers. Whoops, looks like he's ticked her off. "But then my father decided he didn't like Jaune and called it off."

"But Jaune seems like a well mannered fellow? I can only imagine he must've been quite the troublemaker to make your father call off something so important." Ren put in. That must've been the most Jaune's ever heard him say at once.

"Well, it's not that he didn't _like_ me. It's rather, he didn't like _me_." Standing up Jaune took off his blazer before slightly rolling up his dress shirt sleeves and showing them his arms fighting the urge to hide himself. "He thought that _these_ bad boys would ruin the Schnee family image, called me a cripple, and called it off."

"Wow, looks like you got strong _armed_ into submission." Yang said with a grin which was a little too cheeky for his taste. After everyone was done collectively groaning Jaune continued.

"Well, not really…" Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly he gave a little smile. "I kind of broke a chair, fired one of his own butlers, then bought a fifth of the company and held the stocks hostage until he said sorry."

At that several jaws dropped Blake's being the first to go. Yang, taking advantage of Blake's surprise, lifted her off of her chair and sat down where Blake was sitting before leaning onto her hand as her arm rested on the counter.

"So Jaune… You single?" She purred pressing herself against his side a bit. Her breasts gently enveloped his arm and he was sure that if he was able to feel them, he would've been a blushing mess right now. Though, he wouldn't point that out. Can't have her knowing he's immune to her charm.

"Yes? I mean, I guess I'm single…" He said before turning back to Team Lavender. "Anyways, that answer your questions Nora?"

She nodded vigorously the smile never leaving her face as she was temporarily satisfied. Ren though raised his hand making Jaune chuckle. What was he a teacher? No need to raise a hand to ask a question.

"I have a question. How did you go about firing one of _his own_ butlers?" Ren said still stoic, having recovered from his previous surprise.

"Well, my dad always said confidence was key when- Oh that's talking to women…" Jaune said getting a few varying laughs from his friends. "But really you just hack into the email servers and send them a email saying they've been terminated."

Nodding Ren turned back to the front of the classroom where the teacher now stood.

"Quiet down children! Class starts now." The rather _portly_ man said before turning to the chalkboard where he wrote his name, the chalk scratching across the board sending that unpleasant tingling sensation down his spine. "My name is Peter Port but you will refer to me as Professor Port or Sir."

Then class started. By the time the last bell rang and everyone else had taken their seats, a large _portly_ man wearing a red suit walk to the front of the class and introduced himself.

' _My Oum, that mustache is glorious! I wish I have that great of a mustache one day._ '

"Now as I am sure you all know we are here to learn about grimm! Monsters, fiends, prowlers of the night. I however just like to call them _prey_." He gave a wink at Yang and Jaune watched as she made a face of disgust. To be fair if that had happened to him he would've been traumatized for life.

After about forty minutes after he started talking Jaune finally lost it. He reached his limit. He just could _not_ listen to him drone on any longer. Yet he had done better than most.

Blake was reading her book.

Ren was somehow still taking notes. Nora was being well... Nora.

Weiss had finally reached her limit at around the same time he did.

Pyrrha was still taking notes somehow, however he could see her head drooping as she struggled with the strange images he was putting in their minds.

Ruby meanwhile was just doodling on a notepad.

Yang was simply sleeping and somehow had made her way to sleep on the edge of his arm. Sure, just use _him_ as a pillow why doesn't she! Jeez…. Though, he couldn't complain. After all, a drop dead gorgeous as well as fun gal _was_ using his arm as a pillow.

That was a sign of affection right? Was this it? Was this what he's been waiting his entire life for!?

WAS GETTING A GIRLFRIEND FINALLY POSSIBLE!?

Seemingly ignoring the whirlwind of thoughts and possible futures all simultaneously being played out in his head, the teacher continued droning on now coming into a more… Normal set of wording.

"Now… A hunter must be strong, wise, and analytical like myself! Who among you believes they have all these traits?" The _portly_ professor said in his booming voice. His barrel-like stomach bounced up and down as he gave a chuckle. "Really? What a humble crowd of students this year! Anybody?"

His eyes scrunched up further if that was possible as he looked confused. Waddling (that was the only word that could be best used to describe his form of walking) the Professor looked down at his desk at a list of names.

"Mr Arc! How about you show us those traits in yourself!" Peter asked. Well, it wasn't so much as _ask_ more of a… Demand? Yes, more of a demand really.

Jaune was instantly shaking his head. "No thank you sir… I doubt I hold all the tra-"

"Nonsense my boy! I'm sure you're perfect material for a hunter! Now, come and show us your metal!" Port said before pointing at at door hidden in the back of the classroom just behind the bust of his head and the mysterious cage that Jaune hadn't noticed before. Was that cage there the whole time? "Now go! Get into your combat gear and show us your strength!"

Sighing, Jaune gently shook his arm getting a distressed yelp from Yang before she let go, wiped her drool and looked at him. He trusted Blake to fill her in while he went to get ready.

How was it he always got himself into the spotlight when it came to school?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Done! Oh boy that was nice to write… A real great throw back. Now!

The team name is Team Aubergine. Fun fact, aubergine is the official colour used to describe the colour of eggplant. Well, now you know!

Setting up a poll as I write this on whether I should change Pyrrha's spot in the harem to Weiss. _Just please keep in mind, it would be both easier for me to make interactions that work, as well as write romance with Weiss rather than Pyrrha. (I've also put in a third option… Who knows, if that one wins, I'll have another vote on who to put there… And the choices will be… Interesting, to say the least.)_

Anyways… Onto the review responses. Speaking of which, we're averaging at about 18.3 reviews per chapter so far! Which is pretty damn good you guys! Let's try getting twenty this chapter yeah?

You know, since reviews are the lifeblood of writing fan fiction.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Frank Horrigan:** Damn! That percentage is literally way higher than possible! Also, are you challenging Jaune to a fight at the end xD?!

 **Six Foot Assassin:** I know… Grimm are totally and completely useless when it comes to judging strength. And yeah, it makes sense that a skilled opponent would hand their asses to them on a silver platter! What I don't understand, is why people instantly assume that I don't understand that fact… (Not talking about you, just saying in general some people must find me stupid or something.)

 **camdawg:** (wink) I've got things planned in that regard, I will have to do a bit thinking on _how_ things'll end up in _that_ but I know the outcome and how _(REDACTED)_ will win.

 **Desdelor97:** Thanks! Ah, you still haven't missed one. Nice job!

 **NinjaFang1331:** I really do appreciate reviews like this, thanks!

 **AgentDraakis:** I was thinking of getting CRDL the girls from Team NDGO. A whole bunch of lovely ladies for our new bunch of lovely lads eh? Also, yes. Cardin will be less of an asshole and a better fighter than before. Also, his friends _won't_ run from a couple Ursa.

 **plushieeee:** Greatly appreciated!

 **rwby1989:** Haha! Yeah, Adam Jensen's arms are literally the inspiration behind this version of the story and idea in general. Also, fuck no. Never say pun-geon master again. I mean really, I groaned so loud I woke up the cat. No! The pairings is not changed, simply the characters shown on the summary. Yeah, but it's true. Even in real life, with tons of cash you can waltz through anything you want!  
 **Lordrednight: FUCK! WHAT IS IT WITH MY FANS AND PUNS!?** Thanks, I too thought the reason was valid.

 **Flametusk:** You in Toronto, Montreal, or where? We had a whole bunch in my city but you can't see them from my place… Thanks! Happy Canada day fellow Canadian!

 **1st Dragon King:** I was going to make that one you suggested, but I couldn't do it without making the flow seem clunky. Trust me though, I was thinking it.

 **Guest:** Great review!

 **Lord Rikudou:** If you mean the pairing then ya! Ruby ain't going nowhere!

Well, we're all done then… See you all Monday on my other story! Followers of 'The Woman Whisperer' expect a chapter either this weekend, or next Tuesday.

 **-DragonManMax**


	7. Chapter 5

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active."**

 **-Leonardo da Vinci**

 **Note:** Sup. Here Thursday afternoon, writing this. You know how it goes by now yeah?

First things first, I still don't know whether to replace Pyrrha with Weiss or not… Weiss _did_ win the vote with one more point than Pyrrha, and I'm still not sure what to do. My main problem is, I'm worried that I might do something stupid and make her too perfect or have too much lovey dovey shit that people do all the time with her and Jaune.

Since, while lovey dovey fluff is nice, too much of it makes me want to puke.

Anyways, enough ranting about that… I'm still unsure what to do… I like Pyrrha, but I hate her for making me go through this dilemma. It just seems like she was built without flaws, nothing for her to have wrong with her! Listen, if you people were to let me _make_ her have a backstory which was slightly… _Different_ then I think I could make it work…

Onto the chapter then!~

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter V**

* * *

Whistling to himself Jaune pranced down the hallway coming from the locker rooms. Well, 'prancing' was a bit too strong for what he was doing… More of a dance in tune. Whistling to the song placing through his earpiece/helmet hybrid armor piece, Jaune made his way steadily and on time towards the Grimm Anatomy class decked out in his full combat gear.

It was probably a bit unnecessary since there was likely to only be one grimm inside of the cage, but it never hurts to be prepared even during times when it seems impossible to get harmed. The amount of time he's spilled tea on himself when his arms freaked out was innumerable…

So, with his trusty katana upon his hip and equally trusty crossbow slung onto his back, he made his way down the halls with a tiny bit of pep in his step. Was he originally annoyed at having to fight in front of the class for a class which doesn't inherently involve fighting? Well sure he was! It doesn't make sense to fight in a class about damn _anatomy_ to prove how we have _what it takes_ to be hunters.

Seriously, in a class about anatomy, how had they been turned onto the topic anyways!

Speaking of strange occurrences, it doesn't make sense… How had he hid that cage there the entire class and had nobody notice it? Some sort of illusion or advanced hiding technique? Maybe he was already psychologically controlling us without our knowing?

Jeez…. Professor Port just became number twelve on his list of the most scary people alive.

Shivering at the thought that Professor Port could be some kind of genius who was already digging around in each one of their minds, he opened the back door into the Grimm Anatomy room stepping through quietly.

Fully prepared in his black thermal layer with the gray armor pieces attached via magnet, he looked towards Professor Port before walking forwards and standing in the middle of the class looking towards the other students.

"Ah Mr Arc! A pleasure you could rejoin us! Now, I will unleash the beast in a few moments!" Taking his strange blunderbuss, he walked over to the side of the cage which has made its way towards the side of the class. Resting the axe bit of the blunderbuss axe against the side of the cage door, he laughed booming with mirth. "Any last words?"

Jaune shook his head no before lowering slightly, right hand on the handle of his blade while his left was along the curved part of the scabbard. Moments later, Peter Port dropped his arm, and the cage door went flying open with an annoyed squeal as crimson red eyes instantly fixed themselves on Jaune.

 **(Play Song: Velocitron by: Two Steps From Hell)**

Turning the music in his earpiece into something slightly more epic, Jaune readied his stance looking towards his teammates in Team Aubergine. Blake gave him an encouraging 'Fight well!' while waving a little flag which someone had apparently made while he was gone. Yang gave him a thumbs up and a grin while waving a much larger version of the flag, and Ruby shouted out some advice he tuned out in order to focus better.

Charging at him, the boar like grimm he immediately identified as a Boarbatusk wrenched its head back and forth through the air tearing through it. Whipping out Fate's Whip, his left hand drew up his shield 'Phoenix Hominis' before he charged into the path of the Boarbatusk shield first.

Twisting as he lunged, he let one tusk scrape across the metal of his shield knocking him backwards before he kicked it in the face getting a sore foot for his trouble. Landing in front of it, it shifted into a roll and began rolling at him in an almost comical fashion before stopped moving.

Putting away his shield and putting out his left hand instead, he waited until the last possible moment before diving into a roll to the side and slashing across the side of the beast letting it roll past him.

Rolling back to his feet he prepared again, same stance. This time rushing at him slightly slower, he dove to the side. Though this time it was prepared, letting itself un-tuck from its roll and push off to the left crushing his side and he felt his aura take the blow as a tusk scraped off some armor under his ribs winding him.

Letting go of his blade so he wouldn't cut himself at this short of a combat range, he used his semblance and made his shield pop back into a scabbard before he began smacking the Boarbatusk in the face and eyes.

It recoiled stumbling back and he ran to the other side of the arena before sliding along the ground on his knees, picking up his sword as he did so. Turning back towards the apparently smarter than normal grimm, he reached to his belt taking off a new magazine for his sword.

Letting his finger brush over the button to let out the one currently in, he caught the still full fire one and put in the new one making them trade places while the still disoriented Boarbatusk shook its head.

Now prepared, both he and it stared each other down and his left hand reached upwards tapping the button on the side of his earpiece which morphed it into the helmet form. Him looking out of his glowing red eyes and it looking through its crimson ones.

Lunging forwards and letting the tip of his katana sink into the ground he went perfectly straight as it rolled at him. Jumping over it and twisting in the air while reaching with his left hand to grab his crossbow, he watched as the Boarbatusk continued rolling to his doom.

Landing, he turned around to witness all of his pre-planning and guessing come to fruition!

From where his blade had scraped the ground, there was a deep blue line which was quickly bubbling and turning into a much lighter shade. There was a rumbling as the ice expanded shooting up starting from where he first touched down his blade.

Shooting upwards, the jagged spires of ice broke off crackling to life as they travelled down the line and the Boarbatusk just kept rolling. The tunnel vision or rather, complete lack of vision, from rolling at such a high speed stopped it from seeing it coming as the various spikes shot upwards skewering it where it rolled like a pig on stilts.

Now resting on some four foot jagged ice stalagmites the dead Boarbatusk sat there slowly dissolving while the unnatural ice melted into a puddle on the floor. Collecting his scabbard, he put away his sword before looking back towards Professor Port.

"Was that satisfactory?"

"That was more than satisfactory Mr Arc!" Gesturing with his hands widely towards the student audience who were a little impressed, Port continued booming out with his boisterous voice. "Now go get changed my boy! Class is almost over so everyone else can take a small break!"

Sighing and replacing the magazine in Fate's Whip back to the fire one again, he just made his way back out of the door to go and get changed. While they did have combat class later, they wouldn't be having it right after this. Right after this was history with one Doctor Oobleck, and _then_ was Combat Class with …

Turning off his music, he made his way down the hallway until he finally arrived at the armory and found his locker. Opening it up using the provided sequence, he put in his armor plates stacking up from the bottom before resting Fate's Whip against the wall of the locker and hanging the crossbow from a hook in its condensed form.

Taking off his shirt to start out with he got changed back into his uniform except for his tie before he closed the locker and grabbed his satchel in one hand while carrying his untied tie in the other.

Time to see how quickly he could tie a tie while in a hurry and running…

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"That was so cool! You were all like 'pow ching swoosh!" and then you were all cool about it like 'Was that satisfactory'! Teach me!" Ruby latched onto his arm harder before shaking him violently with a pair of what was by far the most adorable silver pair of puppy dog eyes every. Seriously. It should be illegal to use those things. "Teach me to be awesome!"

Smiling Jaune quickly straightened his tie before gently grabbing her fingers and prying them off his arm. He couldn't help but notice quite how small and nice her fingers were as he did so. "Why do _I_ have to teach you if you have Yang?"

"Yeah sis! Why do you need him to teach you when I'm already awesomer than he is?" Yang said grabbing her sister and turning her towards herself by using the dress code violation which is the red hood. "Are you trying to say you don't like me?"

"Pfft! While you're awesome, you're not _that_ awesome! I've never even _heard_ of a dust that does that!" She said before sticking her tongue out at her sister and latching onto his arm again gaining a sigh and a smile for her efforts.

Placing a hand on her chest and stumbling backwards Yang faked hurt as she looked at her sister. "Oh, how you trample on my feelings! And here I thought we were inseparable! Oh, the heartbreak!"

Blake shook her head smiling a little bit while Jaune, finally free from Ruby's pleading eyes and grasp laughed. "Oh come on Yang, no need to be un- _boar_ -able about it!"

There was a gasp before Yang looked at him and Blake sighed while the rest of the group groaned. "Nice one! Though, we better get _rolling_ if we're going to make it to History on time!"

That got a full blown laugh from Jaune while everyone else groaned and he just gave Yang a high five. Ah, being a punster was great. As he's learned, her puns were indeed precious to her and he got quite a few brownie points from making them himself while in her presence. Though, with the way Blake quietly looks at him after he makes one, he should probably be making better puns…

Quickly walking through the halls with his notebook and textbook tucked under his arms, with both his own Team Aubergine and Team Lavender towards the next class they had that day.

They arrived a moment after the first bell and more people came in after him, though some people were already there. Taking a seat next to Blake, he plopped down his textbook, took out a mechanical pencil, and set about doing a standard template for note taking.

To be more specific: Name, date, class, category. Not that anyone cared of course…

Moments later, once everyone was seated and prepared everyone realized that they were definitely not prepared enough for _this_. Whirling into the room came a green, brown, and white blur which zoomed in from the back of the classroom until it came to a rest in front of the teacher's desk thermos in hand.

Dressed in a disheveled and wrinkled (Making Jaune _wrinkle_ his nose in disgust… Point, Jaune!) white dress shirt with an upturned collar the professor was an odd fellow. The bright green wavy and or crazy hair was almost (?) combed back in a way which made sense. Tucked above the ears was a pair of glasses with plain round rim.

Fit in underneath the upturned collar of his white dress shirt was a ugly and askew yellow tie which was probably quite nice under the right circumstances… Though, in the classroom with students it probably wasn't the best choice.

Overtop of half of the white dress shirt was a pair of olive green dress pants which went down to his ankles which were covered in a matching pair of deep green leather loafers. It was by far the oddest get-up he's ever seen.

"Hello! My name is Bartholomew Oobleck but you will call me Doctor Oobleck for the duration of your stay here at Beacon!" Already Jaune's head was spinning. Was this man talking or competing in a fast talking competition? "Today we will be going over what this course will be going over, getting to know each other, and of course going over what you _already_ know from previous schooling!"

There was a 'whoosh' and Jaune felt his hair flutter as he struggled to keep his papers against the desk. Now in front of every student was a package of paper which looked to be about a hundred pages long or so and he raised an eyebrow. Was this the outline of what we _will_ do or what they _have_ done?

"Here is an outline of what we'll be doing for the rest of the semester! I suggest you study all of these things before, and not during class!" There was another 'whoosh' as the word machine gun made made man zipped around the class again depositing a two hundred page packet onto the desk. "Here are the various notes we will be filling out as well as the most important tidbits from the textbook!"

Huh, he just gave us a whole bunch of the notes? That's good. Thou-

"However! Most things which will be on the test will not be included in the packet and rather be in the reading list I'm depositing to you right now!" Now expecting the woosh he put a hand covering the fluttery papers and covered Blake's as well getting a little pat on the arm for the effort. "I expect you to have the first item on it completed for next class"

And thus, the history class began.

The next hour and ten minutes were, to be completely frank, the longest and yet the fastest hour and ten minutes of his life. Doctor Oobleck had immediately gone about setting up the various rules for the class: don't swear, don't ask for instructions after he just said them, pay attention, no racism, no being rude just in general. It was a very interesting policy though it was probably the correct one.

Once he was done that, he gestured to the whiteboard behind him and took them on a very quick geography lesson outlining the current borders, and past borders. Once establishing the past borders, they went over a large portion of the times of the great empires in the badlands which were now destroyed having been crushed by grimm before the finding of dust.

Showing the class the various spots where dust was first found and then examined and tested, he went over the various architectural and natural wonders of the world going about their creation and upkeep by the various governments of the world.

This right here? These couple paragraphs detailing what he just said? Those were the first fourteen minutes.

They went over such a large variety of things it was impossible for him to make actual physical notes! He's resorted to recording the session both with his actual scroll and with his memory taking it all in for later studying.

Though, he _was_ doing the best out his friends…

Nora who was the second furthest away from him, had taken to doodling in her notebook and highlighting random words in the packet to make things like hearts or words in pink, whereas Ren was both trying to stop Nora and take his own notes at the same time… Which as one would expect, was impossible on both ends…

Yang who was sitting to his left had completely given up and was now once again sleeping against his left arm drooling slightly. Though, he didn't mind all that much as he couldn't feel it at all. Whatever was happening to Ruby probably shouldn't be happening… For example, her head was slightly swaying while her eyes swirled and her hand flew across her notes detailing… Something?

Blake who was sitting to his right was doing considerably better than most people. Still managing to take one word notes of highly important bits, it seems as though she's resorted to picking out the most important word he says and writing that down.

To the left of Ruby, Pyrrha was _also_ taking notes. Which was a pleasant surprise. While he knew that she was indeed a combat champion, to think that she was also an smart gal was indeed interesting. While most people seemed to focus on one over the other (looks at Yang) it does seem like she's done both…

Weiss was taking notes, though she had- Oh wow, she must be a bigger genius than he was! Well, at least in theory. Her idea was apparently to quickly use the Beacon free wifi on her scroll and download a voice to written notes app, which was a good idea! Though, it seems as though Oobleck was talking far too fast for it to pick up anything of actual use.

So, unlike most of his friends, he let his mind go on complete autopilot when it came to making note of things down while with the other side of his brain he let his mind wander to the upcoming training session he would be waking up his team for tomorrow.

He had a feeling as though Yang would be severely against the idea of waking up early.

He was broken out of his mind palace moments after when the bell rang and Dr Oobleck once more appeared at the front of the classroom. Taking a deep sip from his thermos, he straightened his glasses.

"I'll be expecting a full report on this class' subject matter by next class! Class dismissed!"

There were several resulting groans which he promptly ignored. Apparently most of the class was indeed against the idea of having a full report on everything they've done that class. Though, it does make sense considering the sheer amount of content they covered in the once class.

Gently shaking his arm until Yang fell off with a startled yelp, he packed up his books and packed the very large amount of paper into his satchel. Giving a small yawn which he covered with his hand, he began making his way to the locker rooms so as to prepare for combat classes.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"Yo Jaune!" Turning his head in the direction of the voice,he saw Yang waving him over from the stands. Nobody else from the team was there yet but people from other grades and other teams were there by now.

Walking over he sat down to her left leaving some space for Blake and Ruby. "Yo? Is that something people say anymore?"

"Shut up!" She said punching him in the arm making him fake wince in pain while she just shook her hand. Haha, she hurt her hand on his metal arm! "What was I supposed to say 'oi!'?"

Jaune nodded smiling. "Yes. Oi! Is a good way of getting attention not only from the person you're calling over but just people in general. It's an ear catching phrase that everyone says but nobody admits to saying."

"Wow, you're such a nerd." She said shaking her head while watching the rest of their team walk in. Apparently they'd been the first ones there. "I mean seriously, nobody would give a real answer if I asked them that question."

"Ha. I prefer intellectual thank you very much." He said before waving over Ruby and Blake. "Also, I'm not nobody so don't talk about him." Jaune said smiling at his play on words.

Blake sat down to his left. "So, what do you think we'll be doing this class? More course outlines or?"

"Pfft! That would be _way_ too boring! What we need is a good battle to get our blood pumping after that snoozefest with Dr. Oobleck!" Piped in Yang fisting the air for emphasis. "How about it Jaune? You me, fighting here, now?"

He laughed. "Oh yeah? There'd be two hits Yang, me hitting you, you hitting the floor." He said before taking out his ice magazine for Fate's Whip. "Need some ice for that burn?"

"Ooooooooooo! What a burn!" Ruby said squeaking in her comment. Jaune gave a laugh and leaned back a bit into the stands.

"I doubt you could take me rich boy!" Yang said before popping some fresh shells into her gauntlets for emphasis. "Me and Ember Celica could ruin you faster than you could say molasses!"

"Molasses." He smiled. "That's a great word… But no, let's not fight today. You know, unity, world peace and all that jazz."

Jaune promptly quieted up once Ms Goodwitch walked into the class, her high heels clacking against the concrete floor of the arena as she walked into the middle from some sort of hidden door.

The blond woman stood at about six foot five her black heels raising her a few inches extra off the floor of the arena. She was wearing a white pleated top with a wide keyhole neckline, a black pencil skirt and brown stockings along with a purple cape for some reason.

Carrying a riding crop and wearing some thin glasses she was the classic dominatrix teacher type from any generic po- (Cough) adult film. Not that Jaune would know what a generic dominatrix teacher from a adult film would look like…

Any sketchy history from his scroll was not his and he's got the paperwork to prove it!

"Hello and welcome to combat class. My name is Glynda Goodwitch but you will refer to me as Miss Goodwitch or as Professor Goodwitch." Flicking her riding crop behind her around the ovular arena, she gestured at it all before walking over to the stair-like stands the students were seated on.

A force field appeared around the large concrete arena. The concrete floor shone dully and looked as though it was freshly polished and it matched the same dull meter high walls which were all around the oval.

"In this class, you will be sparring against your peers in both random and selected fights to test yourself against a variety of opponents." A large television screen folded down from the ceiling hanging above the middle of the large grey arena totally visible to everyone there. "Together we will hopefully weed out any weaknesses you may have."

"Today, we will be doing random fights. However, each fight will be kept to your year." Gesturing to the large screen above the arena, several words came up before quickly scrolling through. "First, the program will determine what kind of fight it will be. Sometimes it may be a full team battle, other times in duos of choice, and other times they may be solo fights."

Pausing once it scrolled to duo fights, she continued. "I will sometimes be arranging fights according to skill level as a test of sorts, however these will not be often as most of the time in real combat, you are nearly never fighting someone of your caliber."

Four boxes appeared on the screen before they quickly began scrolling by in a vertical manner. Zooming through the roster of people, the first box came to an end with Jaune's face and name inside. The second box after his remained blank, while the one after that became filled with Pyrrha's face. The one after her box, like his, remained blank.

Standing up with a sigh, he knew already what she was about to say.

"The first round will be duos. Mr Arc will choose one of his first year peers, and Ms Nikos will do the same to fight alongside them in battle." She said before walking up the stands to where she stood near the edge. "You have five minutes to make final preparations, choose a partner, and strategize if you believe it will help you. Starting…. Now."

Jaune saw Weiss already standing up beside Pyrrha and took that into note before he turned to his own team. "Okay, I already know Yang and Ruby's semblances, Blake what's yours? Actually, don't say it, text it to me."

Popping open his helmet and linking it to his scroll instantly, he opened up the message feed and put it into the top left of his screen. ' _Shadow evasion/dodge? Huh, that's kind of vague-ish'_

"Okay, Blake! You'll be my partner for this fight. Now assuming they don't know your semblance it should all work out." He said before reaching out and hand and helping her to her feet. "Here's what we'll do."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Standing now in the middle of the concrete arena with Blake, he made sure everything was in order before looking over at her. "You ready?"

"As I can be. Though, your plan doesn't exactly fill me with confidence." She said before loading in a fresh magazine and putting the old one into one of her hidden lady pockets. "If something goes wrong it won't be pretty for me."

"Isn't it that way for everyone when everything goes wrong though?" He said cracking a grin.

"Fair point." She said face turning stoic again. Gone was the plain quiet cat faunus who was his partner, replaced by the stoic fighting machine who just also happened to be his partner. "Though, you do owe me one for doing this for you."

Giving a quiet hum in consideration of her statement he snapped his metal fingers. "Tell me Blake, you ever try Mahi-mahi? It's better known as the dolphin fish…"

"No, I have not had the pleasure of having it before…" She said giving him a smile. "Any particular reason you're bringing that up now?"

"Well how about this. As repayment for doing this, I'll take you out to a really, _really_ stupidly expensive place for dinner and we can have some." He says before patting her shoulder. "That sound fine?"

"That's more than acceptable. We can go in two days." Blake said with a barely concealed smile which she tried to squash down. Though, she knew she won.

"Well I'm kind of busy that da-" He began to say scratching his head sheepishly.

"WE'RE GOING IN TWO DAYS!" She said grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him while she screamed that in his face.

"Holy crap okay I'm sorry!"

Pyrrha and Weiss were just across from him. He could see that through the stands there was apparently some sort of betting going on, and it seems as though most were betting against him. Huh, that's not very nice.

Though, he did noticed Cardin put in five lien for him and shoot him a thumbs up.

"The round will go on until both people on one team are unable to battle anymore. This will happen either by having them exit the limitations of the ring, having their aura drop below fifteen percent, and if the surrender." Glynda Goodwitch spoke up standing at the side of the arena. Taking out his katana and folding open his shield he looked at Blake getting back a nod in return.

"The match will commence in three seconds." Straightening out her glasses until the buzzer went off, she then let it happen.

Charging forwards to the left, he intercepted Weiss on her own lunge batting asider her rapier as he attempted a shoulder bash with his right shoulder. Quickly kicking him in the left knee cap making that knee crumple a bit he headbut forwards catching her in the throat and pushing her back before he swung his blade in a wide horizontal arc.

Deflecting his blade upwards Weiss backpedalled leaving an ice glyph on the ground in her wake in front of him which he jumped over slicing the top of an icicle before it impaled his testlicles.

Spinning forwards he moved his bladed into a reverse grip before he caught her rapier on the side of his shield and deflected it sideways charging his shoulder into her chest. Stumbling backwards, Weiss watched as he backpedalled towards Pyrrha where she was just being held off by Blake.

Not allowing it, there was a spinning noise before a satisfying click as dust was chosen in her rapier. Creating a glyph in front of herself, she amplified the fire dust in his direction.

Bunkering down onto one knee, he raised his shield pressing his upper body against the largest amount of shield he could get behind. Fire gone, he folded back up his shield putting away his katana before whipping out his crossbow.

Loading in the ice bolts he shot various places near her feet while she danced out of the way avoiding the ice puddles and small spikes which appeared in their wake. Putting away the crossbow, he dove into the fray against Pyrrha leaving Blake to give him a nod of thanks as she leapt away herself really making use of her cat-like grace and agility.

Taking out the katana and leaving the shield undone, he looked at the swishing crimson hair of the champion as he stabbed forwards towards her torso. Jumping backwards she caught it on her shield and swung herself knocking his blade left before he blocked a slash of hers.

Together they fought both red and orange blades turning into naught but blurs across reality as they clashed together letting sparks fly. Suddenly a bullet came and barely missed Pyrrha's shoulder as she managed to dodge at the last second from Blake's potshot.

Weiss, feeling rather ignored saw Blake with her back turned and dove into the fray herself announcing her presence with a huge plume of flame which made Jaune put his helmet up. Ignoring the heat he and Pyrrha continued fighting to the center of the arena.

Spinning he caught her blade before it hit his back and tried backhanding her with his left arm before she caught it with her shield. Dropping she swept his legs out from under him and he rolled backwards avoiding the sudden spear-strike where he would've landed.

Coming back to his feet he turned on his semblance allowing his sword to steadily begin releasing some of the fire dust inside the chamber. As his blade lit up, he backpedalled slightly from Pyrrha and Blake joined him a moment later as they had a brief four second respite.

Tossing her one of his unused magazines, she tucked it into one of her pockets before they were at it again.

Letting the katana pieces fall apart he whirled it around his head like a whip before lashing out in Pyrrha's direction getting her to block with her shield and give a groan of exertion while she pushed off the heavy metal.

Retracting it, he swung it behind him before going down diagonally on her from her sword side to which she turned to. Smiling he watched as two bullets shot out from Blake's direction and into Pyrrha's back before she turned and he totally reeled in the whip now charging towards Weiss who was skating on the concrete as though it were ice.

' _Huh, she must be using her time dilation glyphs as well as her ice dust to create a miniscule pathway. Drawing moisture from air most likely as well as the ice puddles I placed earlier.'_

Blake deflected Pyrrha's blade quickly before dancing backwards catching Weiss' rapier on the pommel of her ballistic chain scythe. Jaune charged in a second later causing Weiss to retract her rapier and shoot lightning at him using her glyphs to magnify the initial effects of her dust.

Catching him in the arm and zapping past his head the lightning short circuited his right arm. That wasn't good.

Dropping the sword he continued charging in with his shield on his left arm as he caught her rapier letting it scrape across the metal surface making sparks fly while his arm rebooted. Now everyone was extremely close, the combat taking place in the same five feet or so.

Jumping backwards to try and reclaim his sword now that his arm was functioning again, he watched as Weiss huffed a small sheen of sweat across her forehead. He wiped his own off while watching Blake combat Pyrrha.

Blocking the downwards slash and dodging the kick she back flipped over the thrown shield before leaning backwards in an totally crazy back bend to avoid it on the return. Keeping herself propped up on one arm and holding off the blade with the other she managed to struggle to her feet and let the blade portion fold.

Releasing a salvo of bullets towards Pyrrha who deftly dodged around them and blocked with her shield, Blake never say it coming. Prepared behind her, Pyrrha was winding up her spear before lunging with it, one leg forwards.

Jaune came flying in sword having been put away, with nothing but his fist which was coated in some flames leaving a small trail behind him. Blake was now literally caught between her partner and a spear.

Crashing towards her every spectator was on the edge of their seat. Were they about to see a team kill?

Crashing his fist into Blake's face, he carried on as the shadow clone evaporated into nothing more than a memory. Pyrrha's eyes widened before her face stung having received a flaming fist right to the nose knocking her backwards.

Weiss seeing opportunity on the freshly landed Blake lunged forwards rapier first and stuck it into Blake. Falling downwards from the jump she used to avoid the strike, the shadow clone became not so shadow like as it crackled to life with electricity.

Running up the blade the current kept Weiss pinned to the spot as her legs turned to jelly and her aura drained to thirteen percent. Looking at his own he noted how he was at fifty percent from both now and from the Boarbatusk earlier while Blake sat at a twenty eight percent from her own skirmishes and Pyrrha was solidly at thirty seven.

Taking back out his blade he let Blake take a breather while she reloaded and he charged at Pyrrha who was now angry as she batted aside his blade each time, both of them countering each other to a near standstill.

Catching his blade on her shield he let go of it before punching her shield with his left arm crushing her so that she slid backwards slightly into the concrete. Following up with a right hook which she caught with the flat of her blade he dropped sweeping her legs from under her.

Landing on her shield she rolled before backpedalling and switching her blade to hunting rifle mode and releasing a few shots to the unsuspecting Blake.

She dodged them but one grazer her leg and another cut across her arm putting her to the red.

Reclaiming his sword he walked towards the center of the arena feeling bloody and bruised even while his aura went overtime to heal him from the electrical damage from earlier. Pointing his sword at the slightly less tired but no less bloody and bruised Pyrrha he managed one word.

"Surrender."

Charging forwards she rapidly changed her sword from sword to spear back to sword in a mecha shifting combo which he barely managed to save himself from as small nicks appeared along his cheeks, in between his armor. Feeling tingling sensations where she cut him from the pure adrenaline coursing through his veins he looked upwards very briefly towards the aura meters.

 _Pyrrha Nikos 29%_

 _Jaune Arc 25%_

 _Blake Belladonna 14%  
Weiss Schnee 12%_

Clashing against her as she spun her spear into a hunting rifle and began firing shots at the end every time she was near his body bent like living water around her shots cutting her in the upper arm before he did something she was not expecting.

Letting go of his weapons he kicked her in the shin causing her to bend over slightly out of reflex and he pounced on her crushing her shield arm against her own chest and pressing her sword arm against the concrete ground.

Still struggling he felt force which she shouldn't have been able to muster coming from her shield and sword arm.

Using his semblance to force her weapon to mecha shift into a form where it was in between spear and rifle, he made it totally obsolete before he grabbed her throat with his hand heating it up.

"Surrender please. I really wouldn't like to hurt you any more."

He saw her eyes change from fiery determination to win to respect and a little bit of something else he couldn't quite place. Letting his hand unheat itself he unstraddled her the second she mumbled 'I surrender' and fell to the ground giving great heaving breaths as his aura seeped into his wounds barely covered by his torn thermal layers.

"Good fight Pyrrha."

"You did rather well yourself… Jaune."

The next moments were some of the most hectic in the class for the rest of that year. Though, on the bright side everyone learned not to screw around in 's class. Many a men were whipped with that riding crop, though only a few openly admitted to liking it.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Aaaaand done! Great! Good! Wonderful! We're done here for today! Now, please, let me know how it went okay? I like to think I'm pretty good at gritty fight scenes, so please let me know how it was. (Me telling you to leave a review.)

Just today (today being the time of me writing this author's note which is Thursday morning) I've started playing 'Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire' which is a mobile game kind of like 'Game Of War' or something. If any of you would like to message on that or maybe join up to make a guild of some kind for us fellow FanFiction readers, give me a shout, my name is 'DragonManMax'.

Also, just yesterday I started reading a Jaune x Weiss story known as 'Fealty'! Which is actually really, _really_ good in my opinion especially if you imagine everyone talking with a european accent of some kind. I love 'Game Of Thrones' typing things, and just plain 'medieval' things, and if you like that stuff too, go read it now!

Anyways, enough of all that. Please, have a wonderful day, read some awesome Knightshade stuff, and leave a review about your opinions on the whole Pyrrha dilemma as well as your thoughts about the chapter!

 **Review Responses:**

 **Frank Horrigan:** Yeah! Ever since this conversation I've been thinking of how I'd kill him myself.

 **NinjaFang1331:** Thanks!

 **1st Dragon King:** Sorry! I know how un- _boar-_ able it can be when you can't make a pun.

 **BarkingFox:** Everyone happens to be amused by that one third extra review comment I made!

 **Dawn of Kitsune:** Yeah… It's really strange isn't it? I still don't know what to do.

 **Doriria The Story Teller:** Yeah, it's reviews like this I look for when I look at results. I would really like to do both Pyrrha _and_ Weiss, but I feel both would have their own challenges writing. Weiss would make writing Volume 4 _sooo_ much easier though.

 **desdelor97:** Thanks! Yeah, Arkos seems like a sunken ship from the start.

 **UchihaMadara270:** Thanks!  
 **Shashenka:** I love my reviewers, but for some reason all of you bastards just love making terrible puns. I mean seriously, I just got my phone fixed, I can't break it already!  
 **AgentDraakis:** Exactly like that my friend!  
 **littlejason8:** He does indeed, I just haven't had a good situation for him to use them yet.

 **Flametusk:** Nice! British Colombia is my province of residence. Also, I'm thinking it _will_ end up being Weiss.

 **Guest:** I wish I could add them!

 **lordrednight:** No! Stop the puns! Bad boy! (smack) FUCK NO MORE PUNS! (Your opinion on the Weiss and Pyrrha issue is valid.)

 **Dragongod0117: FUCK! WHY DO YOU ALL DO SO MANY DAMN PUNS!?**

I've got to go cool down now… Reading all your puns again is raising my blood pressure too hi-

 _-Here Lies 'DragonManMax' Who Died From Too Many Bad Puns_


	8. Chapter 6

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **There is no great genius without some touch of madness."**

 **-Aristotle**

 **Note:** Hello! Last week I was busy, immensely busy, so I wasn't able to put out a chapter. Now, this week is even busier, but I've managed to find small breaks in between things to get this out. At least, this should come out this week.

As I'm sure you know if you're reading my other story, family has been staying over after they've lost their jobs, and since they didn't save money (deeply sighs) they're temporarily staying here until they leave. But, they are (I'm predicting) going to come back soon.

It's going to make writing hell.

Anyways, I guess that isn't too important, but expect longer breaks in between updates until school starts and they hopefully leave. (They're gone. Left Friday morning. Yay! Time to get writing some smut! And this! _Check the end notes as they are important by the way._ )

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter VI**

* * *

Groaning Jaune rolled to his front before doing an impromptu push up and getting off the ground. Heaving for breath, he extended his hand downwards towards Pyrrha while it seemed like Miss Goodwitch was attempting to return any semblance of normality to the class.

It would appear that it's not going well.

"Thanks." Grabbing onto his wrist rather than his hand, Pyrrha hefted herself up with his help. Few more words were exchanged between them as they stood there in silence. Jaune had crossed his arms over his chest and stood there watching the crowd go bonkers.

Jaune saw Blake begin walking over while Weiss was slightly limping over. Whoops, looks like they'd gone a bit far. Oh well, all's fair in love and war. Well, kind of anyways.

Standing in front of him and crossing her arms under her chest seemingly mocking his own positioning, a small smile came to Blake's face. "So, what time will we be leaving on Wednesday?"

Jaune looked upwards ignoring Pyrrha's confused expression. "Well, around seven I guess. Though, that does mean that you only have two days to get some nice formal wear together… Unless of course you'd like for me to have something made for you."

"Ugh, formal wear? Maybe this isn't the best idea." Blake said disappointed by the idea of her sweet sweet dolphin fish heading down the drain. "Really, where am I supposed to get a nice outfit on short notice?"

Jaune hummed for a second as though actually thinking about it. "Well, I could just buy the entire restaurant for Wednesday night and then compensate them for lost revenue before selling it back."

She rolled her eyes. "Suuure. You're _definitely_ going to buy a restaurant just so that I don't have to get a dress."

"I would if you wanted me to. Really it's no problem." Jaune smiled at her but he was totally serious. Really, it _wouldn't_ be a problem. "You sure you don't want me to at least find you a dress?"

Blake sighed. "No it's fine. I still have some money in the bank at least. I guess I'll just go tomor-"

"What's this I'm hearing about clothes shopping?"

Yang appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Now arrived on scene, Yang was standing there while Ruby was heading over to popping over to talk to Weiss on her way. Oh how adorable! Now she's helping Weiss limp over!

Squeeeeee! Bless your beautiful soul Ruby Rose!~ Bless your soul!~

Jaune turned back to Yang and Blake now being done squealing over Ruby's adorableness. Going completely deadpan he continued. "As a condition for her fighting with me, I need to take her out for some stupidly expensive fish."

"It's not stupid!"

"I never said the fish was stupid, only that it's stupidly expensive. I mean, technically it's nothing for me, but it's still a lot." He said clarifying. Wow, turns out Blake is rather _catty_ when you insult something she likes.

Man, Yang would be proud.

"Oooooo! Is this love in the air?" Yang said clasping her hands over her chest while turning to Blake. Continuing her mocking Yang put the back of her hand to her forehead before leaning back. "Oh Blake you work so fast you don't even give me time to sort out my own feelings for you!~"

Even though she was obviously mocking her that didn't seem to stop Blake's face from flushing red, her normally pale skin giving her away easily. "No it's not love, and don't make jokes like that."

" _Really_ now?" Yang said moving in closer towards Blake's face. "Surely you're not saying you don't like my jokes… Right?"

Noticing the slight twitch in Yang's eye, Jaune took a slight step backwards testing to see if they were properly focusing on him. Noticing that there wasn't a movement as Yang's teasing and Blake's vehement responses continued, Jaune slowly and carefully backed away heading over to Ms Goodwitch.

"I assume I'm dismissed from the rest of the class?" He said scratching the back of his head a bit sheepishly. Asking Ms Goodwitch who seemed to be a complete disciplinarian probably wasn't a good idea. "I mea-"

Sighing and pinching the top of her nose between her fingers, Glynda closed her eyes before opening them again as her green eyes bored into his. "I suppose there's a higher chance of things returning to normal if all four of you left... Feel free to go then, just don't cause trouble!"

Smiling at her while she turned back to the class attempting to rein everyone in, he quickly collecting the bolts he fired from his crossbow before heading out the backdoor with his team none the wiser..

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Dinner that night was… Interesting to say the least. People had been asking questions, the occasional first year outside of their group of friends asked for advice if they would ever have to go up against Pyrrha, but he refused most and truthfully answered even less.

After all, that fight wasn't even a real fight.

Once dinner was done, they'd had free time and returned to the room for a bit. Propping open his scroll to where he'd recorded Dr. Oobleck's class, he turned on speech to text on it and tried translating getting about ninety percent done into a transcript.

Translating the rest himself, Jaune cleaned it up and printed out a couple copies so that he could hand them out later or perhaps use multiple for note creation and filing. Popping over his book of additional homework from that class, he went through everything Dr. Oobleck said and highlighted parts important to the homework while memorizing it for himself.

Passing on his notes to a thankful Yang who said something about him being a 'godsend' or something, Jaune advised Blake and Ruby if they needed help while asking the occasional question himself about their opinion on certain subjects.

It was nice.

While it was by no means as efficient as it could be, and they were mostly scrambling to get on with the Professor's ridiculous demands, it was almost entirely different to what Jaune's ever felt before.

Where back in grade school through high school, and during his own research time as well as while he was being tutored efficiency was always key. Always needing to be the best, use his full potential, go above and beyond.

Now, since he'd prepared so much this was almost easy.

Already having memorized most history textbooks, the only things he didn't know about history were either buried in old articles or first account witnesses whose stories never truly made it out into the mainstream. The same thing with grimm. Having memorized and created his own systems for noticing weaknesses according to type and size, anatomy as well as behaviour was easy except for what he could only learn from experience.

And while Peter Port may boast, and make his stories far too extravagant and spectacular, what he did have was more experience than all the surviving fourth years of this academy combined.

So all in all, it was a learning experience which was the same, yet a thousand kilometers away from the old one. It was a learning experience where he learned in a multitude of different ways, while at the same time repeating the old ones. Completely different, yet the same.

After all, before he'd been studying alone. Now he got to study with three to six really hot girls.

Ah, life is good.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Waking up the next morning with a slight groan as he used his semblance to turn off his alarm, Jaune grabbed the corner of his blanket and peeled it off himself letting it rest on the other side of his bed.

Sitting upwards and stretching his mechanical arms, he made sure everything was in proper working order for the morning. Taking a quick peek at his chest, he noticed that any bruises he might've gotten yesterday from the fight were gone, already having been healed by his potent aura.

Grabbing his workout clothes from under his bed, Jaune hopped into the bathroom changing before brushing his teeth and washing his face. Grimacing at what he was about to do, he knew it could very well lead him to his death.

Taking in a deep breath while the sun filtered in through the red curtains of their shared room, Jaune carefully hefted the ladle and the pot he'd stol- borrowed from the kitchen just yesterday. Raising his hands he quickly began banging against the pot with the ladle creating an annoying dinging sound which he was sure could be heard even from team Lavender's room across the hall.

Groaning Yang slumped further into her pillow as one of her arms snaked out from under a blanket and onto the bedside table which her scroll was charging on. Grabbing the delicate metal device she raised it to her face before clicking it on and blinking a few times before looking at the screen.

Apparently realizing that the noise wasn't coming from her scroll, she let out a moan of what was likely regret for having to leave her cocoon of warmth created by the pool around her and she pushed herself up.

Blake had a more immediate reaction waking up, and he could see one of her ears twitching before she pushed herself up kneeling on her mattress while stretching and flopping back down turning towards the general location of the noise.

Ruby bolted up saying something about 'Cookies' before groaning and hopping out of bed swinging her legs out onto the floor. It was all in all a strange process considering her blankets were still wrapped around her petite frame and she went falling towards the hard floor with a adorable 'eep'.

Grimacing at the possible chaos he caused, Jaune raised his voice carefully placing his ladle and pot onto his desk with a small but noticeable 'clink'.

"Wake up team! We've got training to do and daylight is burning!" He shouted at them getting some more widened eyes and blinks while the comprehended what time it was. Walking over to the still partially closed curtains, he grabbed a fist full of each side with his metal hands before wrenching them open. "We're going to go and run our lungs out!"

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"Uuuuuuuuuugh. Jaune why are we out here again? I would've paid attention earlier but someone was rudely waking me up." The blonde brawler said glaring at him at which he could only sheepishly smile and look downwards. "I'd give them a piece of my mind but surely they had a reason. _Right_?"

"Yeah Jaune! Why _are_ we out here! It's four in the morning! Couldn't you have let us sleep for at least five minutes longer?" Ruby said giving a yawn after her statement. "I was having the best dream about this one guy who invented this one machine which made food and then he made it rain cookies!"

"No I wouldn't give you five minutes! Five would turn to ten and then that's it! That my friend is how you become someone else's bitch Ruby." Jaune said turning to Yang. "Never let yourself be told five more minutes only for nothing to come from it! Also, yes we _do_ have a reason. Don't we Blake?"

Her head shot up as Blake rapidly blinked trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. Was she seriously just sleeping standing up?! "Uhhh. Yes?"

"Blake, fill them in!" He said laughing a bit as it echoed around the almost completely abandoned school grounds. Though, some birds were chirping.

"Right… Uhh, we are… I think we're here for some sort of training? And daylight is wasting? Or burning? Something li-like that…" Her voice steadily dropped off near the end as her head drooped down and she swayed standing up.

His jaw dropped. Really? Was nobody _truly_ aware of why they were here? Sighing, Jaune walking in front of the three girls' semi-well made line. Sighing and rubbing his nose slightly he repressed his own yawn.

"We're here to train. For the next four years, this is going to be happening every second day starting today bar for extreme circumstances. But if only one person is unable to do it, the rest will continue got it?" He said laying out the groundwork. "Today, we'll be testing your endurance to find your absolute limit, and then we'll break those limits every time we work on endurance okay?"

"And how would we do that pray tell at, I don't know, four in the damn morning?!" Yang said her hair lighting up for a moment as it floated coated in flames behind her before even that energy was gone. "It's far, _far_ too early to be training! Just give us a bre-"

"No! No breaks! Now, we're going to run around this school at a full sprint, as long as we're physically able to do so! Got it?" There was a weak chorus of objections from them. "Aw come on guys! Don't you want to be the best team there is? Don't you want to show team Lavender which team really reigns supreme?"

 _That_ got their attention. Perking up at the mention of competition, some fire returned to Yang's eyes and her fist clenched need for sleep mostly gone. Blake looked up and raised her eyebrow while digging her nails into her hand to likely use the pain as a jolt to her system. Ruby's eyes widened before it seems as though she's both resolved an internal conflict and come to an interesting truth within herself at the same time.

Hopping in front of them to stand beside Jaune, the little reaper firmly pointed at her spot in the line. Raising an eyebrow Jaune looked over at her. Surely not! Shaking his head he turned to Ruby smiling. "While the thought is nice, I'm going to be the one dire-"

"GET IN LINE MAGGOT!"

"AAAAAA!" Letting out a squeak at the same time as a voice crack at the demon from hell which just invaded poor Ruby's soul, he hopped into line while Yang and Blake straightened apparently going into salutes instinctively. Noticing this he quickly followed their example looking ahead with dead eyes while his hand came in contact with his forehead.

"LISTEN UP MAGGOTS. TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON SPEED TRAINING. SPRINT AROUND THE SCHOOL UNTIL YOU PUKE! SPRINT UNTIL YOU'RE COUGHING BLOOD!" Jaune paled at drillmaster Ruby and his legs shook from her still squeaky but incredibly intimidating voice from hell. God, if someone got her a whistle she'd _really_ be a drill sergeant. "AM I CLEAR MAGGOTS?!"

"YES MA'AM!" The sheer terror present in everyone's voice was obvious as even the death could've heard their resignation to her reign as well as their obedience.

"WRONG! DO IT AGAIN!" Her little voice squeaked out with surprising ferocity as she scowled at them.

"SIR YES SIR!"

Breaking into a sprint with the rest of his squad, the ran down the Beacon pathways the cobblestones flying underneath their feet as they went deadset sprinting. Yang and Jaune were still breathing fine after the first four hundred meters or so but Blake's breathing was intensifying. However, she _was_ still keeping up so kudos to her.

Rounding the corner after another hundred meters, he felt his breath get caught in his chest and the back of his knees start aching, the constant impact of his feet upon the pavement jarring up his legs causing his whole body to vibrate.

Now pulling ahead of Blake with Yang, he spared a moment to glance to his left where the other blond of Team Aubergine was sprinting her long hair unrestrained and flowing behind her. Breathing in more through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, he pumped his mechanical arms steadily picking up speed.

Pumping a small but steady trickle of his own aura into his legs, he sped along Yang not even eight feet behind him while cursing about something like 'Shoulda worn an extra bra.' or something while Blake trailed behind him by about fifteen feet still flying across the pathway.

Coming to the cliffside of Beacon he took a moment to take in the nice scenery of the sunrise as it came up over the ocean before rounding the corner and sprinting down the cliffside walkway. Trickling some more aura into his lungs and head to increase performance and make that lightheaded feeling go away, he could just barely sense the rest of his teammates doing the same.

Rounding the other corner he flew along pumping harder and harder, picking up speed like a train going off the rails before seeing a lamp post ahead of him. Jumping once he got within ten feet he flew through the air twisting in midair so that his hands could slip onto one side.

Barely hooking his mechanical fingers around the side, he let go once he was done swinging. Flying off the lamp post, he landed on his feet having lost a bit of speed with some soreness in his arms.

Picking up speed again he didn't dare look back heading back to where Ruby was and crossing the beginning line. Noticing she shouted out his time, he lowered his head down and continued pumping further headfirst into the air leaving a trail of hot air and non-physical energy behind him.

This process went on and on, minute after minute after about eight minutes and three and a half laps in Jaune stopped going into a jog and then just standing there. Falling to his knees he grasped at the ground. Currently in the Beacon gardens, he was on the grassy sidelines of the sidewalk.

Ripping some grass up from the nicely manicured grass patch, his laboured breaths echoed off of the buildings as his luns burned and his world spun. God, the last time he'd pushed himself that hard…

He couldn't even remember.

On his knees Jaune put his hands up on his head, expanding his ribcage and allowing for more air to be taken in and released. His chest rose and fell while his heartbeat slowly stopped beating quite so loudly in his ears.

Taking three minutes to catch his breath, Jaune noticed the sweat dripping into his eyes and raised a hand to wipe it away only to realize that the metal was warm. ' _Overheating? Impossible, it has a fantastic cooling system. I don't have the warmth sensors on either… That's weird.'_

Grabbing his hair and slicking it back with his sweat, he licked around his lips tasting the salt before wiping the sweat out of his eyes again with his slippery and cool metal hands. ' _Odd, it's back to normal. That shouldn't be happening.'_

Getting back up he felt a chill on his legs as the sweat met the colder air of the morning. Though, it was steadily heating up. Cutting through the courtyard at a brisk pace he shivered a bit wishing he had his real arms back for a moment before quashing the thought.

While his real arms would allow for him to arm up his body naturally, his built in dust batteries could do just as well.

Heating his arms up by having the batteries flow more energy into the palms was easy, and he simply rubbed the top of his shoulders and the back basically giving himself a heated massage before he returned back to the girls.

Blake was there on her knees as well apparently having just finished her third lap. Naturally they'd drifted apart when it came to later in the game with Jaune overtaking both girls. Though, that was mainly due to his large amount of aura and natural stamina. Yang was doing good only stopping maybe two hundred meters behind himself, but if he looked in the distance he could see her heading over as well.

Ruby meanwhile was a different story.

Having somehow procured a lawn chair for herself, she was sitting there beside where they had begun her scroll open with their apparent times on it. Beside her was a set of bottled water which he eyed hungrily.

"Well, now that everyone's back you can take a break." Sighing, he sat down next to Ruby on the ground with his arms resting on his knees while he yanked out a bottle of water.

Or rather, _Yanged_ out a bottle of water. Haha, puns…

Tossing one over to Yang who took a seat beside him, and tossing one to Blake whose chest was heaving up and down as she lay on the grass, he leaned back drinking some before splashing the rest into his hair and down his back.

The nice feeling of it lasted for a moment before he realized now he was wet _and_ cold! Great.

Turning to Yang, he noticed she'd apparently pulled a hair elastic from… Somewhere and was now tying her hair back into a ponytail type thing which kept it out of her face and out of the way for the most part.

Noticing how once her hair was tied back her breasts came further into view, he took in her red face and wiggling eyebrows as she was still breathing heavy. "Like what you see?"

Noticing his own face heat up he rationalised it with him just being high on life after the highly strenuous exercise no matter how short it was. "How could I not when that tree behind you is so wonderful?"

Yang turned her ponytail swishing behind her. With her bright yellow tank top and the sports bra straps he could see still stuck to her shoulder he noticed how truly beautiful she was for the first time. No no beautiful, _gorgeous_ really.

Hell, to call her 'hot' should be considered an insult as she was thousands of levels above that.

Hell, was it a trait of huntresses in training to be hotter than the sun in the middle of July? Blake, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, and almost every other huntress in training has been an amazing looking person nearly completely free of blemishes and while not all were quite as well endowed ay Yang, most had quite the bust too.

Maybe it had something to do with aura's natural healing powers? Huh, that would be a subject to study…

"I don't know, I always prefer a different kind of wood." She said before leaning forwards again and uncapping her water. "And while that's big, I've seen bigger."

If he was drinking water he would've spit it out once he returned to real life following her comment. Gaping at her he was about to make a comment before Ruby threw in her ten cents. "Personally I've always preferred a nice linden tree, but I suppose these are nice too."

Having apparently reverted back to her old self, Blake decided to test Ruby. "So Ruby, care to enlighten us with why _you_ weren't participating with that hell run?"

Ruby's eyes flicked back and forth for a moment before she raised her finger cheekily. " _I_ was supervising!"

"Okay? What were you supervising?" Blake asked eyes narrowing even as she uncapped her own water bottle.

"Your times of course! Quite impressive you guys really, it's good!" She said beaming happily. Though now it was Jaune's turn to raise a point.

"But Ruby, what about _your_ time? Surely you don't think that just because you're team leader you can just sit back and supervise all day." He said raising his own finger while plucking the scroll out of her hands ignoring her cry of protest while he sent himself the times. "Your turn. After all, if you don't go, what's the point of me making you get changed this early in the morning?"

"B-but I mean, today was just a t-test type thing right? I-I'm going to be busy planning all sorts of other things for us to do training wise, and I think t-that I need to be a more serious lead-" She stuttered out pressing her fingers together while looking off to the side.

"Ruby, while your conviction to be a better leader and really take charge is great, how can a King expect to lead his subordinates without setting an good example?" Yang said grinning. "C'mon Rubes, it's only four thirty in the morning. Plenty of time for you to run while we do some more exercises right?"

"B-but… I- No- You can't! I command you as leader not to force me!" Having apparently found stable footing in her leader-dom to secure her own safety, Ruby latched onto it haughtily. "If you do, I'll order you not to eat! A-and to study every day!"

"Okay, okay… Jaune?"

"Already on it." Grinning to himself he got up before ruffling Ruby's hair getting a pout and a look which said 'You wouldn't dare!' in her cute voice. Answering back with his own look which said 'Try me!~' he stared down at Ruby. "This Ruby, is a democracy not a dictatorship. When one of us runs all of us run. Anything you make us do, you must be willing to do yourself. Now…"

He heard her whimper while there was the sound of a high five behind him. "Run."

And thus, their training continued with Ruby running for a few minutes before collapsing of exhaustion and needing to be carried back by Jaune who'd gone to retrieve her. Bringing her back, she took a short break before they spent the next hour training together, cycling through push ups, burpees, sit ups, squats, planking and a very small amount of yoga apparently led by Blake.

Those last bits would become standard no matter what they were currently focussing on whether it be sparring or endurance.

Now done and all drenched in sweat, it was six in the morning and they were all starving. Heading back to class in their sweaty workout gear, they took turns showering and putting their stuff into the laundry baskets before heading out for breakfast.

But if there was one thing that Jaune would forever remember about that day, it would be the fact that Yang jiggled quite a lot while doing burpees and she hadn't caught him staring.

Ah, life is good.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Done! My god! Wrote all of this Saturday when it should've been done for Friday and for that I'm sorry! But on the brightside, I am indeed back now and ready to rumble! I released some chapters for my other story 'The Woman Whisperer' to get the reviews and follows flowing back into my email, and now I can only hope this gets back on track as well.

Please, consider reviewing, following and favoriting as it gives me lots of motivation to write more often, resulting in my mojo never disappearing, resulting in consistent uploads for you wonderful people!

Now, I've got a couple announcements.

Number one, I'm making an Archive Of Our Own account which I should receive by Monday! Yaaaaaay! Of course you may be wondering: 'Huh, why does that matter?' well, I'll be putting some stories on there which are more… Smut related. Gasp! Yes you heard me right, I'll be writing smut. So when that comes out I'll notify you. Though, I'll put it on Fanfiction as well as AO3 for those of you not willing to go far to look. However, if it breaches the terms of service for here and I'm told to take it down, I will do so without hesitation.

 _(The first chapter will be Jaune x Kali. Which is surprisingly a first, I mean seriously, there's nothing with the two of them as love interests which makes sense, but I'm surprised nobody's done it yet.)_

Next! I've gone back and reformatted all of 'Criminal Mastermind!'! Meaning that this is the best possible time for you all to get involved! Now it's sleek, without annoying old review responses taking up large amounts of chapter, and it'll just be even better now!

Besides, there should _technically_ be a new chapter of that up Monday!

Last! We'll probably indeed be having Weiss take Pyrrha's place. While I can have character development for Pyrrha now as I realize I truly am god of this world, I think if it's Weiss it would make my plans for Volume 4 much much easier to realize.

So, here we go! My glorious return to fanfiction! The week I've taken off was used for planning as well as important _me_ time but now I'm better than ever and ready for great times! Please, leave a review about the chapter, and have a great day!

(By the way, another SOPA attempt is in the works. We can't let this succeed as this would ruin many great things on the internet, and could possibly even catch this story in it's wide blanket over the internet. Please, go sign a petition to not have it succeed somewhere.)

 **Review Responses:**

 **Flametusk:** That was the first album I got on my phone! Man, 'Two Steps From Hell' is so great isn't it? I think you just said that you like puns, but I'm not going to _pun_ -ish myself and try deciphering that.

 **TheFirstFoxx:** Yeah, I know it's not much of a stretch, but I'm thinking of going Weiss or sure.

 **rwby1989:** Haha yup! He indeed won a lot of money, about two hundred Lien so he's sure to be happy over that. Though, I'll be talking more about the aftereffects of the fight next chapter. Also, yes I've taken your stuff into account, and we've discussed it into PM.

 **1st Dragon King:** Thanks man, your review really helps me realize how much of this is truly in my control. I guess I just feel the need to please reviewers a bit too much naturally, don't worry though I'm learning to fight it. Thanks man! I truly do appreciate it.

 **littlejason8:** Yeah, but that's a ticked off previously caged Boarbatusk I'll have you know!

 **Raidentensho:** A good idea, but a bit overboard for this time in the story. However towards Volume 3 after all the White Fang shit, I can see him doing something like that for sure. Did it above. It'd suck if that goes through.

 **desdelor97:** Thanks!~

 **physchominer:** Haha! I'm still alive for you to finish me off anyways!

 **lordrednight:** Haha, haha-FUCKING STOP! NO PUNS PLEASE! I'VE HAD FAR TOO MUCH PUN ABUSE FROM ALL OF YOU! *cough* Okay, I'm fine again. But yeah, we'll be having more character development from Cardin and CRDL later on in the story guaranteed.

 **BarkingFox:** Cardin won about two hundred bucks. After all, they've got to keep bets small to keep Glynda from finding out and 'seizing' the evidence. Also, I know exactly how that'd influence the chapter! But first ask yourself, did she _really_ lose?

 **Guest:** Thank you! Also, yeah almost all my stuff is either Alternative or Rock, with some being Orchestral or Pop. Gorillaz's 'DARE' was one of the first Alternative pieces I heard do to it being associated with a game of mine.

 **Kureizonbi:** See that? That's the door. See this? This is my foot up your ass! Get out if you're going to make puns! (Or keep em going.)

 **Frank Horrigan:** … We talk in PM too much for me to even bother responding here.

 **Natsu vi Kurosaki:** Yeah, I think so too. We'll see how it pans out.

Done! Have a wonderful day and leave a review you wonderful punny people!

-DragonManMax


	9. Chapter 7

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success."**

 **-Bruce Feirstein**

 **Note:** Hello! I'm back and ready to type up a new chapter and oh boy! It's hopefully going to be a nice one which while not moving the _plot_ along too much, will move along some _character_ progression and things.

Well, anyways.

Also to that one guy who said: "The amount of non-Arkos is going over the actual Arkos so I don't agree with the change but it's your story so whatever." Yeah you're correct. The amount of (Jaune x Anyone) is larger than the amount of (Jaune x Pyrrha) but guess what? I went and counted, Pyrrha is paired with Jaune in four hundred and thirty five stories. Jaune with anyone other than Pyrrha, all those _combined_ is only five hundred and fifty six.

So that means that Pyrrha is paired with Jaune in forty five percent of all stories with him in it. Now please, don't complain about Pyrrha not being in this one (not talking to you just some other people that were complaining) when there are four hundred and thirty five for you to go and read.

Also, I'm not trying to be a review whore here, but can we get some more? Feedback is always appreciated and we only got eight last chapter…

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter VII**

* * *

Jaune took in a breath before holding it for a few seconds. Releasing the air into his surroundings he resumed his regular breathing while he popped and straightened his collar. Currently wearing part of the suit he took with him to Beacon, Jaune Arc was situated thankfully in Team CRDL room getting ready to take Blake out for dinner.

His black slacks were freshly ironed and warm against his legs, while his black socks were going up to his mid shin. On his feet was a nice pair of black dress shoes but there was no designs or fluff on them, simple black laces were the only thing on top.

His white dress shirt was nice and plain but it would hopefully look better once under his blazer. Straightening out his shirt for the eight time, he shrugged on his blazer on top leaving it unbuttoned.

For now it would just be a nuisance buttoned.

Tucking his scroll into his pocket and strapping on his watch, he took his currently collapsed hemet and put the two earpiece like structures in his pocket. While he isn't expecting to get into a fight today, should he need his helmet it's always on him.

Sighing and packing the bag he arrived there with full of the clothes he was wearing before changing, he zipped it up and checked himself in the mirror once more. Rotating his hands a few times to see if the metal arms would work fine with the sleeves he nodded.

Opening the door Jaune was instantly treated with a camera flash and a wolf whistle. "Ooo Jauney boy's got a date! So who's the lucky girl?"

Rolling his eyes Jaune smiled at his buddies. "Ha I wish. But no it's just me paying her back for something she helped me out with earlier… How about you Cardin? Still treating my sister right?"

Cardin shuffled a bit in front of him while blushing slightly. "You know me man, complete pushover. The second I do something wrong I feel sooo bad it's just unbearable! Your sister controls me like a puppet."

"Well as long as the only ropes involved in the relationship are the ones she's controlling you with I suppose it's fine." Looking around the room he raised his eyebrow. "Where's everyone else?"

"Sky went to go pick up some dinner and Dove is grabbing our dry cleaning and Russel is… I don't even know, he does what he does." Cardin said offering what little wisdom he had to offer. Ah, the inside joke that Russel does what Russel wants. Jaune never would forget Mozambique. "Hey want me to walk you?"

"Where? To my room? Sure I guess but it's kind of unnecessary." Jaune said lowering the bag so that it hung from his hand at his side. "Well, let's go then."

Walking over to the door he popped it open letting Cardin go out first before shutting it with a click. "So, who _is_ the lucky lady?"

Sighing he ran one of his metal hands over his face. "I just said it's not like that! Besides, you know that I'm bad socially! What are the odds that I could've without knowing asked someone out?"

Cardin laughed his voice echoing through the halls. "C'mon Jauney boy! You've got to start thinking about it sometime! After all, I'm sure your mom wants plenty of grandkids right?"

Jaune smiled at that. He'd have to call mom later that's for sure. "Yeah but she's got my seven other sisters for that. Not like she needs for me to have kids as well."

"But think about it! You're heir to the company! Surely it would make some sort of sense to have kids right?" The ginger said patting a hand on the slightly shorter boys shoulder. "You know that way you can arrange something, have it be good for the business. You know like your parents did with the Schnees!"

"I know you're joking, but don't joke about things you know I don't like." Jaune said as they neared the dorms. "Besides, Weiss is actually _here_ at Beacon now. I mean seriously, she lives across the hall."

Cardin spread his hands out. "Great. Now you can finally get closure and stop thinking about her for once."

"Oi! I only said that I was thinking about her once!" Jaune said before resigning. There was no getting through to him. "Man you never let things go do you?"

"Nope! Besides, I've learned to pay close attention to what you say since we've met and I noticed something." He said grinning cheekily. "You said that you only _said_ you were thinking about her once. Not that you were only _thinking_ about her once."

"Well hardy-har-har looks like someone gained an extra few IQ points since we've last spoken." Jaune said ignoring and hopefully suppressing the heat rising up in his face. God, he says one thing _years_ ago and he holds it above him! "Now, I'm going to have a wonderful evening. You are going to leave before you embarrass me."

"Fine, fine! Have fun on your _date_." The slightly larger man said before making a kissy face and walking away snickering to himself.

Damn, Cardin is a buddy but sometimes he really gets on his nerves.

Knocking on his own door so as to not walk in while one of them was changing, it swung open a moment later. "Hello Jaune!"

"Hey Ruby! Is Blake ready yet?" Jaune said smiling down at the younger girl. God, he still felt cramps from yesterday morning… That workout was brutal, and Yang getting her that whistle yesterday night definitely didn't help.

"Nope!" The girls hair bobbed adorably while she shook her head which was poking out the door haphazardly. "She'll be ready in like five minutes though so just wait here okay?"

"Alright. Whatever _suits_ her." Jaune said grinning and getting a groan from Ruby while she made a face.

"Wow that was almost as bad as Yang's!"

"Aww come on! I like to think that the playful punster attitude _suits_ me." Jaune said trying again and wiggling his eyebrows.

"You can't use the same one twice Jaune… That's just lame." Ruby said. Well, she does have a point… Even though it hurt his feelings. Surely he can be more clever than that! "Well, I'm going to close the door now since this is hurting my neck…"

"Okay." Jaune said before leaning against the wall besides the door and taking out his scroll. Double checking that the reservations he checked the time at the top of the screen. If they make good time, they should make it no problem.

Using the next few minutes to plan out ways to remove or destroy any problems which may appear sometime tonight, he was completely prepared for when Blake would be ready and they could leave.

At least, he thought to anyways.

He noticed the door open with a click and shut off his scroll putting it back into his pocket before walking in front but a few feet away so that she could exit.

If he was a computer like he often prided himself to be, he must've just crashed.

Standing there in the now short doorway was Blake wearing something which was easily her fanciest piece of clothing and doing so brilliantly. Wearing a completely black asymmetrical black halter neck with a thin gold band around her waist, her arms were completely exposed while the slit going up the right side of her dress let out a bit of leg as well. Her hair wasn't particularly styled but the ribbon seemed to be freshly tied and looser than before, and he could tell from his experience having seven sisters that she was wearing slightly more makeup than usual, the eyeshadow and mascara making them pop all the more.

"-o I look?"

There was a silence which stretched out while the train in Jaune's mind tried desperately to look for any survivor in the shape or form of logic or reasoning but all that came out were a few random blurbs of thought with no meaning or context.

"-aune? Jaune? Hello?" Snapping her fingers in front of his face several times got the train to be sorted out and instantly begin racing along its predetermined track. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm feeling pretty good actually, why do you ask?" Jaune said a bit too quickly. He made sure to put that mind breaking image into the vault of his mind never to be let go. Noticing Blake's slightly flushed face he raised an eyebrow.

"Well you were kind of just… Standing there staring for a few minutes, and I'm not sure if you were okay or not." Blake said sounding serious before she smirked. "Though, I guess I don't have to ask whether I look good or not again."

"Again? What do you mean?" Jaune said revving back up all of his background systems to keep his mind running. Jeez Blake, you just had to go and ruin it all didn't you?

"Well I asked you before and you just kind of stood there… You know, gaping like a fish and all that." Blake said before averting her gaze and looking slightly to the side. "Anyways, will we be going now?"

"Yes indeed! Now, we have an airship to catch." Walking down the hallway after waiting for Blake to accompany him at his side, they made at a quick and efficient pace which was impressive considering that Blake's wearing some black heels.

Arriving a few minutes later and avoiding all questioning gazes amazingly enough bar from one brown themes girl with sunglasses, they got onto the airship and sat there for a few minutes chatting.

If there is anything that people can always talk about, it's a mutual disliking of something.

That mutual disliking of course being in this instance, how sore training made them. It seems as though it's the general consensus that Ruby's training program was hell. Made to condition them further beyond most fourth year hunters even were currently, the program was nuts.

Plenty of strength training, as well as speed and endurance was on the plate, and it seems as though Ruby's made them all have an amount ot do relevant with their current limits. For example, Yang would have to bench-press more weight than any of them since she's naturally stronger. Jaune would need to run further quicker since he's naturally got the best endurance. Blake needed to be faster by at least twenty five percent than Jaune when it came to agility when it came to things regarding being agile and so on.

And while the system was good and likely to work according to both Jaune _and_ Ruby calculations and expectations, it was still painful and would be until they got used to it. Of course, once they got used to it the standards would be raised again and the torture would begin all over again.

Though on the bright side, it seems like of all the teams in the first year they do the most training. Then again, it has only been three days so who knows? Maybe Cardin and crew will take that position from them!

Hahahaha! No.

Hearing the announcements to disembark coming off the mostly deserted Airships P.A system, he and Blake got off walking down the exit ramp thought Blake had some difficulty with her heels on the sloped surface.

Walking around back of the terminal, they went into the parking lot where Jaune looked over to Blake. "Alright, now we wait for the car to swing around and we'll go."

"What do you mean by 'wait' for the car to swing around?" She said raising an eyebrow at him. Noticing the natural ease in which she did so he cursed. It's taken him weeks to perfect that gesture and she does so so naturally! So elegantly!

"You'll see." His reasoning came around moments later as the Lamborghini Aventador came rolling around the corner before cruising down and coming to a stop in front of them. Completely black in colour the blue lighting which came out of the front was a nice contrast much like the silver making up the spokes on the wheels.

Stepping out of the drivers side once the car stopped and was turned off, a man in a butler's uniform reached into the car and brought out a book before tossing the keys to Jaune with a nod. "Have a nice night Xavier!"

"You as well Mr. Arc." The man said with clear respect before going to sit and read on a bench nearby. Blake for the most part was silent but it was clear she had questions. Walking over to the passenger side door he opened it for her gesturing inside.

"Ladies first." A small smile came up while she stepped into the car sitting down and buckling herself up while Jaune closed the door and went over to his own side. Opening the door and sitting down in the driver's seat, he put on his own buckle before adjusting things to his specifications in a few moments and leaning back putting the key into the ignition.

After pulling out of the parking lot and heading onto the main streets which were mainly clear on this Wednesday night, he looked over to Blake. "So I'm assuming you've got some questions?"

"Naturally." Blake said looking out the window in front while the stopped at a red light. "Who's car is this?"

"It belongs to my father. Though, he hasn't much use for it at the moment seeing as he's in a coma." Jaune let out with a slight grimace.

Looking sorry Blake touched his arm lightly making him look over before turning back to the road. "Sorry. That must be a painful thought for you."

He shook his head. "I've had years to come to terms with it. Besides, I'm using part of my spare time to figure out how to fix it. Well, at least how to think of a solution since I don't know all that much about medical science." Jaune smirked. "Of course, I don't know much about his particular condition. Arms though? I know everything about arms."

"Now! Second question! When did you learn to drive?" She inquired likely feeling unsafe making him laugh a bit. If there's one thing he is, it's a safe driver.

"Last year I got my lisence. Since you know, it's an important thing to have." Jaune said hoping she wouldn't bring up the fact that-

"Where's your sticker or magnet thingy that says you're a new driver? Don't you need an adult to drive this before you've had your license for two years or something?" She said her eyes narrowing and he gulped.

If there's one thing he's learned, it's that sometimes Blake can really be a grump cat.

"Weren't you a terrorist or something? Surely that requires- Oh wait, being one is just plain illegal." He said hopefully diffusing the tension in the air with his attempt at humor. "Besides, it'll be fine. If anything I'll get off with a warning and even then it's not likely to be much. While I'm not one to flaunt my power, I am fairly influential I'll have you know!"

"I suppose that's fine." She said with a small sigh. "So, when are we getting that fish?"

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

They were quickly brought to their table, as the waiter pulled out Blake's chair for her to sit while Jaune did it himself waving him off. He never liked it when people did that, made him feel like they would take it away at the last moment and send him sprawling.

Damn Russel and his idea of a practical joke! Once is funny! Twelve times not so much…

Taking the menus while their glasses were being filled with water, the waiter lit the candle while Blake drooled over the menu. "There are so many options! Oh I can't decide between the-"

"Blake didn't you come here for the dolphin fish?" He asked raising his eyebrow before taking a sip of water making sure the glass wouldn't slip out of his cold hands.

"Well, I was planning on it, but it's not often I'd get to try my favourites cooked this well." She said before looking down at the menu and rubbing her chin a bit. "What do you think I should get? The tuna or the salmon?"

Opening his own menu to that page he read over the ingredients and style of cooking before looking at Blake and doing some evaluating. "I believe you should get the salmon. You seem to be one more for a nice creamy oven baked salmon."

"Good idea. Besides, if you're paying for it I can always get both!" She said grinning in victory. Huh, seems like when it's about fish even _Blake_ can get excited. Now that's something!

"I suppose you can, though it won't be quite the same." He said memorizing the name and specifications of his own meal. The steak looked especially appetizing in the photo. "Care for some wine?"

"Wine? You wouldn't be trying to get me drunk so that you could take advantage of me would you Jaune?" She said deadpan but the slight mischievousness in her eyes gave her away. "Besides, aren't you driving us home tonight?"

"First off, don't imply that I'd need to get you drunk just to have a chance at sleeping with you. Second off, while I _am_ driving us home tonight, I know that one glass won't do too much with my insane amount of aura and my natural high tolerance." He said taking out the separate drinks menu.

"My grandparents while great people, were semi-alcoholics near the end and passed down their tolerance to my mother who then gave it to me. You know, the magic of genetics and all that." He said eyes flickering towards her bow for a second before looking back down at the menu at some lovely reds. "Would you like to decide? Tonight is all about you having a good time after all."

"Sure, pass me the menu." Reaching over the table he passed her the menu while taking the time to look over at the rest of the restaurant. While he's been to nice ones before, this one was different from any other.

From the dark wooden floors, to the large rafters in the ceiling, it seemed to be almost like a rustic feel really. Located on the top floor of a large skyscraper in downtown Vale, it had a view overlooking the ocean and the city itself, and he was sure that during nights like this Beacon would even be visible itself.

The tables were nothing unique, simple and round while some were smaller and square like the table he and Blake were sitting at. The simple but comfortable minimalist chairs they were seated on supported his back rather nicely in fact.

Though, that could just be because he wasn't stuck with stupid politicians or people that thought they could use him to get votes orr funding. After all, you could only spend so much time with people with rods up their asses before getting completely spent.

Blake was like a breath of fresh air.

With the soft candle light coming from the little cantle in the center of their table, her skin glowed softly making her look even better. Whereas whenever he'd gone out for a dinner like this it was for a completely special occasion, or for some sort of business, now he was going simply for the sake of going with a friend.

That was a great feeling.

Just the feeling that he was there to have a nice night with someone who was rapidly becoming more and more important in his life was a great feeling. His team, his partner, was easily becoming his closest friends. People that he'd do a lot for, as finding true friends was hard.

People who'd look past his mechanical arms and not call him a cripple, or be filled with pity, or treated him differently were nearly impossible to find.

The only ones he's found were now his own _immediate_ family, his small group of friends now making up Team Cardinal, some exclusive butlers of his, and now his team and Team Lavender.

Since being at Beacon, the amount of people he could trust his life in the hands of increased by about thirty percent.

Once the waiter came around again, they placed their orders and Blake's chosen wine was requested. Arriving a few minutes later he allowed the waiter to pour it for them. While Jaune may not know much about wine despite his origins, he did know that this was indeed a fine pick and wondered how Blake knew what a good wine seemed like based off of a description in a book.

Making idle chatter as they ate, the discussed now about lighter topics. Favourite books, though Blake seemed awfully suspicious during that subject, movies, T.V shows, the likes. More or less, they took their first real outing as partners to simply get to know each other better.

It was nice.

Finishing up the magnificent steak he'd been greeted with, he nursed his wine before finishing and reaching into his pocket. Taking out his scroll, he navigated to his notes before opening up a new file and moving slightly closer to Blake so that she could see what he was doing as well.

Putting it face down on the table, he activated the stylus point in his index finger and put it to work. "So Blake, what kind of armor would you say suits your fighting style best?"

"Excuse me?" She said raising an eyebrow. This _does_ seem fairly out of nowhere.

"Well allow me to explain." Jaune said before navigating to his own file on his scroll before opening it and showing her the 3D model of himself. "This is me wearing my armor. As you can see, it's currently a form of metal plates held to my body by magnets. They don't cover all that much bar for some really important bits, but they're effective and good armor."

"My armor suits me, because I focus mainly on either outlasting or outsmarting my opponents. In a battle where it might take time to think around my opponent's own defenses, mine would need to be good enough that I could tank a few hits during a moment of carelessness." He drew up a small sketch of Blake which admittedly wasn't very good but at least he was trying. "This is you. As you can see, you have _no_ armor whatsoever. While this may be good for your speed and agility based fighting style, with what I presume to be your current aura capacity one good hit could easily take you out of a battle."

"Now since I obviously can't have my partner or teammates dying, I was thinking of making everyone a better set of gear which can withstand basically anything life can throw at it." He said before taking a quick picture of Blake and melding it with the crappy sketch.

What came out was a much better 3D model of her which while still inaccurate when it came to bust, hips and waist, it was still accurate in height and looks.

"For you since your style is light armor to no armor, I was thinking of making something which remains completely flexible and is as light as possible, while solidifying and becoming completely impenetrable when coming into contact with blunt as well as piercing force." He said before giving her the scroll. Taking out his earpiece he put it on and since there was only one, when it transformed it only changed into its visor form covering one eye. "Now I was thinking of using something like ultra high molecular weight carbon polyethylene for the rest of it, and maybe putting some ultra small metal plates inside which will interlock into something unpierceable when facing trauma."

"Got it?" He said asking her. While he asked for her opinion, really he had it all figured out already.

"I think I got it? I'm not all too sure about how it would work exactly, but from what I understand it makes sense both your reasoning and the design." She said while still looking sceptical. "But will I have to change my clothing style at all for it?"

Sighing he rubbed his face slightly. "Technically yes you will just a little bit. However, since unlike Yang you don't leave huge swathes of your body open, like her legs and upper torso, really all you'll have to do is wear longer sleeves and slightly altered tights."

"Sounds fine then." She said before finishing off her wine and putting it on the table while he waved over the waiter for the bill.

"So I assume you're paying for the armor and the dinner?" She said with a sheepish smile. "I know you're paying for the dinner, but I'd just like confirmation since I kind of spent all my money on this dress…"

He gave off a laugh. "Of course Blake. If it has to do with the safety of my friends I'd take on the world. Trust me, while researching and developing the general concept I just told you about will take time, I've got most materials already belonging to me."

"Now, care for any new weapons? Since you should probably have a backup in case Gambol Shroud ever gets lost or broken." He said opening up another new file. Seeing her shake her head he closed it again. Whatever, he can get her one anyways.

Paying the bill, he walked over to the window of the restaurant's waiting area as they stood there for a second. Blake finally broke the silence quietly. "Wow, the city looks nice from up here."

"It does indeed doesn't it?" It's not often you get a full view of Vale, but what a view it was. A vibrant city which never sleeps but is never too loud, filled with people from all races and places in the world. Unlike Atlas not everything is uniform, and unlike Vacuo nothing is in massive disarray.

Slowly drifting across the sky were some altostratus clouds simple wisps across the sky while the final dying light of the sun gave it all a purple glow. It was slowly getting closer to winter, and while it was the beginning of fall now, it wouldn't last forever.

"Well, let's go then."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

As they drove through the streets of downtown Vale back towards the docks, Jaune pondered something which has been bothering him for a while. Well, two things really, but only one would do for tonight.

"Hey Blake."

"Yeah?"

"That fight with Pyrrha the other day, did she seem okay to you?" He asked turning onto 'Brownton Boulevard'.

"What do you mean?" The ravenette asked looking out to the side out the window.

"Well for one, she was going easy on us." He stated bluntly. Well, looks like the _cat's_ out of the bag. Haha, puns. "Second, she seemed angry when I showed that I _was_ beating her. And I don't mean 'Oh I'm not the best' angry, I mean 'fuck the world' kind of angry you know?"

Blake shook her head. "I haven't noticed anything like that while we were fighting. While I spent most of that fighting Weiss, when I was fighting Pyrrha she seemed normal… Hey.. What do you mean she was going easy on us?"

Jaune snorted. "We were going easy on each other. That fight was stupid and drawn out and both me _and_ Pyrrha seemed to both silently agree to make it that way."

Glancing at her he noticed the small amount of confusion before it cleared slightly. "Her semblance. She didn't use it once in the fight"

He smiled but shook his head. "Actually that's wrong. She was using it for the entire fight, more noticeably when I pinned her. And if my guess at what her semblance is, is correct, than she could've ended it just as easily as I could've."

"Just what do you think her semblance is?" She asked now fully committed to seeing out this conversation to its end.

"Magnetism, some form of telekinesis only able to be used on metals, possible psychokinesis which can only be used on inanimate objects." He said before continuing. "It's something like one of those. Her swings are too fast, her body able to move too quickly. And what does she cover herself in? Inanimate metal objects which can be completely altered in speed by her mind without anyone knowing. All the while she's controlling her enemy without them knowing and making them barely a second slower."

Blake's eyes widened. "That's smart."

"It's powerful." He said before looking at the time. They'd be cutting it close, but they'd make it back to Beacon alright. "If it was something like that, she could've ripped out my arms using her mind and beaten me with them. Hell, she could've made me beat myself with one of my own arms is she wanted to."

"Okay… Now what do you mean that _you_ were going easy on them?" She asked now having filed away and memorized the Pyrrha information.

"As soon as she chose Weiss I'd won." Jaune said moving the conundrum of Pyrrha's out of place anger to the back of his mind. "Since my semblance is control of anything mechanical, to whatever is defined as mechanical by my semblance, I could've had Weiss' dust rapier explode the second the round started. And while they may be robust people, Weiss' dust would cause one hell of a mess if it went off in her hand. Next I could've made Pyrrha's spear close up so fast she wouldn't have even noticed onto her hand effectively cutting off some fingers before I went and torched her."

"Real fights are much messier than the tournament style ones at school." Jaune said before pulling into the parking lot. Seeing Xavier get up from his bench and bookmark his book and begin to walk over he finished it fast. "Me and Pyrrha decided to draw it out, make us seem unbeatable without giving away our trump cards just so that none in class challenges us. I like to think it worked fairly well."

Taking the keys out of the ignition and opening the door for himself, he tossed the keys to Xavier before walking to Blake's door and pulling it open. Reaching out his hand he took hers in his and helped her out before she straightened out her dress.

The airship ride seemed like it would be fairly quiet in comfortable and understanding silence before Blake spoke up. "So you're telling me you made me fight in a battle you could've won in seconds for no real reason?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, you _did_ get something out of it."

"Yeah, a dinner _so_ makes up for me getting beaten black and blue." She said rolling her eyes with a little smile.

"That's not what I meant! You got a dinner with _me_ , _Jaune Arc_! Now you can say you knew me before I was ruler of the world!" He said flailing his hands into the air for dramatics. " I don't know why or if I'll take over the world, but now you can say you knew me before I did! Technically!"

She let out that nice laugh of hers for a few seconds before reining it in. "Anyways, once we're back in Beacon I'll go change, and you'll go- Wait a second. Where _did_ you change while I was getting into this?"

He shrugged. "While being friends with girls as nice as all of you is nice and all, I need some testosterone every once and awhile too. So, since my friend who just happens to be my sister's boyfriend is here, I went and changed in his room."

"He's dating your sister? What's he like to have accomplished that?" Blake said raising her eyebrow.

"Well, he _was_ a bit of a prick but once I figured out how to block him off from porn when I was living in his house, we worked out a deal pretty quick." Jaune said laughing at the memory. "Now he's a big old teddy bear who gets a bit too cheeky sometimes."

Jaune's face hardened before his eye started twitching. Looking Blake straight in the eye before he lowered his voice. "But I swear to whatever gods are up there, if you ever have a chance to hear or read his poetry… Run… Run and never come back. My god he's terrible at it."

Blake laughed again. "Poetry? Seriously?"

"Yeah… My sister's a sucker for that kind of thing even if it's really bad. And trust me, it's _bad_." Jaune said while they docked. Getting up with Blake they walked they went back to their respective rooms to chance.

Upon returning to their rooms, both Jaune and Blake had to beat off people wondering how their 'totally not a date' date went. Naturally one was Yang, and one was a ginger who poked his nose where it didn't belong.

 _Xaio Long_ will this night go on?

Haha, puns…

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Done! And there we have it, the totally not date between Jaune and Blake. Hope you enjoyed ladies and gentlemen! Next chapter will be a set up for some more things happening in Volume One. While it might not be particularly interesting, it'll be required so… Yeah.

Anyways, those of you looking for my smut, expect it tomorrow late at night. Already one and a half thousand words into the set up, since apparently I can't write smut without a fucking lesson on lore about Menagerie.

God, I'm Blake. Needing plot with my porn.

Anyways, please… Leave a review, chillout for the rest of the summer, and have a great day!

(On the 20th Of August I'm going to the United States Of America until August 24th so I won't get much writing done that week by the way.)

 **Review Responses:**

 **LordGhostStriker:** Yeah it makes sense if eventually they don't care. After all, once you bleed, fight for and love someone like family on your team, seeing them naked won't matter much after a while.

 **Frank Horrigan:** True that! Yeah, Archive Of Our Own is a little weird for me to use since it feels so different, but I'll get the hang of it.

 **pelirrojo93:** Alright man… Have fun reading your Arkos stuff. Just please, in the future if you like a concept continue reading even if they don't have the ship you really like.

 **Natsu vi Kurosaki:** "I LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA COMMAND YOU! OBEY ME! OBEY THE WORLD!" I too like our precious little snow angel more and more as the series goes on. Hopefully we see a lot of progression with her in Volume 5 now that she's independant.

 **desdelor97:** No you keep up the awesome work!

 **Josh Spicer:** Thanks for respecting my choice man!

 **1st Dragon King:** Haha yeah… I won't go getting a god complex anytime soon though don't worry! By the way, I really like that abyss quote.

 **Raidentensho:** You'll see things like this more as the story goes on, though we'll be seeing something either next chapter or the chapter after that.

Great! Now I can go to bed! Please, have a wonderful night folks!

-DragonManMax


	10. Chapter 8

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note:** Alrighty folks! Here we go! Back and writing this story and it feels like it's been forever despite the fact that it's only been a week. Odd how that happens isn't it? Like relationships, this is at first new and exciting uncharted territory, before it all becomes known and regular and comfortable.

Then again I wouldn't know what being in a relationship is like so I may just be rambling…

Anyways here we go! Time to get writing some shit before packing and getting ready for my vacation! It's going to be great and from Sunday until next Thursday I won't be doing anything. Maybe possibly expect a chapter next Friday, but definitely don't count on it.

As a result of my packing, this is kind of short and I'm sorry!

(I never did my packing. I also happened to somehow make this two times longer than it was supposed to be by forgoing my daily relax and listen to RWBY soundtrack time. Thank me in reviews you sausages!)

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter VIII**

* * *

Jaune grunted catching the blow before it crashed into his grunt before he pushed the leg away and thrust his shoulder into the offender. Stumbling backwards, the slightly larger boy rebalanced himself before throwing his right elbow back towards Jaune's face only to have it caught by the black metal hand prepared for it.

Letting go of the elbow and stepping out of the way Jaune leapt backwards skidding across the gravel before digging one hand into the ground to slow himself. Panting heavily and ignoring the sweat dripping off his brow Jaune looked upwards. "Tired yet Winchester?"

His opponent, the large ginger male normally clad in full plate shook his head taking in a deep shuddering breath. "No way Arc. You ready to surrender yet?"

He could feel a grin coming on as his opponent decided to not concede. It's always more fun to watch them struggle. "Nope."

And so he lunged forwards again fist cocked backwards as it flew towards Cardin's face top speed. Dodging out of the way surprisingly nimbly, he pushed out his arm deflecting Jaune's before he got behind him kicking him in the back of the knee cap.

Feeling himself crumpling and going with it Jaune crumpled before rolling to one side and lifting himself up. Going at it time after time he and Cardin repeatedly clashed arms and legs becoming nothing more than mere blurs eventually as their bodies become living weapons.

Ducking under the next swing the motors in his arm whirled just a bit faster crashing forwards into Cardin's gut before Jaune jumped forwards placing his hands on Cardin's shoulders and leapfrogging over him.

Landing, he spun on his heel with one of his legs out crashing into the mans backside as he went towards the ground. Catching himself in a plank like maneuver, the ginger launched himself upwards using his insane upper body strength already ready to crash his fist into Jaune's face before he noticed Jaune was gone.

Immediately looking upwards, he was already side stepping out of the way while Jaune crushed his fist into the ground going a few inches deep. Looking at his opponent with a satisfied look Jaune opened his mouth. "You're learning."

Cardin only grinned savagely in returned. "You're reusing old tricks."

Blocking the next swing with his forearm and knocking his elbow into Cardin's throat he grunted as he felt Cardin's knee drive into his gut. Both stumbling back, Jaune recovered first just barely before Cardin launching forwards with a flying kick sent into his friend's shoulder while he went flying back sliding across the ground and sliding across the gravel likely tearing up his shirt in the process.

Putting his arms on his hips and straightening himself up while throwing his head backwards Jaune let out a long groan before hearing his back pop and sighing. Well, that's over and done with. Walking over to his fallen buddy, he reached out one of his hands before feeling a jolt of pain in his hand. That doesn't happen often.

Suppressing a wince, he gave Cardin a hand up before the other man gave out a groan of his own and reached a hand upwards towards his neck. "Damn man that hurts! Jeez, you never let up do you?"

"I'd expect it to hurt, I did elbow you in the throat then kick you in the shoulder so… Also, would you ever let up?" Jaune said with a single raised eyebrow before Cardin turned away slightly annoyed.

"Why do you even have to do it with my team anyways? You've got more competent people on your team and you know it!" Cardin grumbled on the way back from the training grounds to their lockers. "That Yang chick on your team is _way_ better than any of use at unarmed combat, really you should be sparring with her everyday instead of just beating us down."

Jaune rolled his eyes. God, sometimes Cardin can be such a complainer. "You know I can't do that Cardin."

He threw his hands up in the air, muscular arms bulging as he did so. "Why the fuck not! Surely she'd be more up for it than I am! Hell, rumor has it she's a battle maniac!"

Jaune sighed. "Can't do it Cardin. I said it once, and I'll keep repeating it."

There was a look in Cardin's eyes of recognition for a brief moment before he grinned like a shark which just smelt blood in the water. God, it's creepy when he does that.

"Oh I get it now! Jauney boy here's got a little crush on his team mate! You're so cute with how you try and hide your feelings!~" Pinching on Jaune's cheek like an overly excited grandmother, Cardin grinned while Jaune looked on impassively hoping the red he was seeing wasn't making it's way to his face.

"First off, if I did that wouldn't stop me from fighting her. Second, I don't. Third, why is that the first thing you assume?" Jaune said listing out his points and hoping the conversation wasn't going to go the way he was predicting.

"Are you sure you don't Jauney? Pretty much every first year, male _and_ female have a crush on her! Hell who wouldn't with tho- Ow!" Reaching a hand up to rub that back of his head where he just got cuffed by Jaune, Cardin took a step over before continuing. "What's wrong with liking her man?"

Jaune sighed for what must've been the fifth time in five minutes. "Nothing is wrong with liking her, it's just complicated."

"Complicated how?" His long time pal said crossing his arms over his chest. Oh god, it took the turns he was expecting and he walked right into it.

"Well for one, I can technically blame it all on hormones. Even if I _didn't_ want a girlfriend, I'd be attracted to her. Second, I've spent every day with her for two months eating, sleeping, and just hanging out meaning that the chance of developing feelings on both parties is either highly likely or unlikely due to the almost familial relationship. Last but not least, there might be someone else. Or hell, even multiple people who could come in between us if we _were_ to be a thing." Jaune said rambling on about the reasoning he's been trying to get through his _own_ mind for as long as he has been.

"Pfft, hormones my ass. You literally _just_ admitted you wanted a girlfriend! Forget all that science shit you just said, ignore all logic and go for it man!" Cardin said before clasping his hands over his heart in a remarkably un-Cardin like gesture. "The poet in me sees this as a romantic love story for the ages! Imagine, a dense and introverted yet brilliant genius in love with the extroverted good looking bim-Ow! Stop doing that!"

Chuckling to himself, Jaune reached into his locker grabbing some casual clothes for their weekend. "She's not a bimbo. Yang's one hell of a girl though, that's for sure. But then again, she's not the only girl in my life even if she's one of the first."

As his door swung shut he almost had a heart attack as Cardin's face appeared replacing the metal door. "Ah I see. You've got a crush on your partner then! Bell? Blair? Black? I forget her name but she's mighty fine too!"

Jaune _really_ hoped he could remain as deadpan on the outside as he was trying to remain on the inside but if the heat building in his cheeks was any indication he was failing spectacularly. "Her name's Blake. She's nice too, far quieter than Yang that's for sure which is a nice change of pace."

"Hm… Maybe you should just ignore all of them and bang Weiss already? We both know you haven-Ow! Fucking stop that you prick!" Cardin said cursing under his breath at his luck for having such a guy as Jaune as his best friend. "I remember that one time you said you liked her! What happened?"

"That was years ago Cardin. And besides, while now she's a nice independant woman for sure, I doubt her father would be fine with us dating. Though to be fair, he might be slightly more courteous considering what happened last time." Jaune said considering. Damn, why did life have to be so complicated?

"Fine fine…" Cardin said while they walked over to his own locker where he'd stowed away his own clothes. "How about you take the safe route and go for Ruby? Surely it should be too hard to make her fall in love with you."

"Route? What? Is my life supposed to be some sort of visual novel now? Also, don't say things like 'make her fall in love with you' so flippantly! Women are independent and if they fall in love is up to them! Or mind control but even then I don't think a man could control a woman's mind without going mad first." Jaune said. Ruby _was_ nice that's for sure. With her innocent demeanor, overall cheerful attitude, and general kindness towards… Everything really. She was just a nice person and would likely make a good moth-

Great. Now his mind has wandered into someplace which should only be labeled as porn.

Just fantastic.

Cardin nodded agreeing. "Women are complicated creatures who understand each other, but can't stand each other."

Jaune laughed. "What did you get _that_ line out of? A fortune cookie?"

"Not cool man. You know I always forget to get out the paper before I eat those! Nah, came up with it myself. What do you say, outa ten how was it?" Cardin said taking out a pen out of nowhere and holding up his hand. Looks like he was in his 'rate my poetry mode' again.

"Since it's likely true and wasn't all that bad, a solid seven out of ten." Jaune said suppressing a shudder. God, he's so insistent about things in this mode!

"Seven? Only seven?" The ginger inquired as the left the building.

"Meh, coulda used some more fanfare." Jaune said casually. It's true! Showmanship is everything in this day and age! Noticing how Cardin wrote 'fanfare' on his hand, Jaune let them lapse into comfortable silence while thinking up some plans for the rest of the day. Maybe chill in the room and get some work done?

As they stepped into the dormitories and were riding up the elevator, Cardin gave a comical 'Aha!' and pointed at Jaune's chest while walking in front and placing his hands on his hips. "You could date all of them! Fulfill every man's dream and have a harem! A bevy of beautiful women in your pocket to fulfill your every need or desire!"

Jaune raised another eyebrow. "You date my sister and still have those thoughts? Huh. She must not have gotten out the whip yet. Besides, it's not _that_ uncommon. It's only uncommon with families like ours. The old kinds where they don't think that's a good idea for their public image."

That fact was true oddly enough. Whereas a harem wasn't all _too_ common, it was by no means _uncommon_. After the rebellions and wars, not to mention the constant supplies of hunters needed to protect the kingdom's, males were harder to find if only because most of these happened before the military and the huntsman academies were opened to women for fighting as well.

As it stands… Remnant seems to be in need of more males.

When all the soldiers went and died or fucked off, there were less people to procreate, causing lower birth rates, meaning less possible males for the future and for some reason people just seemed to be on a spree of having female children at the moment.

Look at his parents and _that_ fact is obvious.

But as a result of this, naturally the female population outnumbered the male population roughly three to one. Naturally that meant that if you didn't want to die alone, most of the time you needed to end up sharing a husband or boyfriend for a while. At least until the competition dies off.

Wow, that got dark fast.

"But that's what makes it perfect! Think about it! You, Jaune Arc breaking the mould and having a harem would open pathways for all the _other_ males of prestigious families like ours! Then _I_ can have a harem and blame it all on you!" Cardin said smiling triumphantly as the elevator doors opened onto the first year's floor. "My master plan has come to light!"

Jaune groaned while they stepped out into the hallway. "If _that's_ what you call a master plan I pity whoever it is your involving since that's not even a plan. That's _barely_ an _idea_ of a plan."

Cardin made a face before rolling his eyes. "You're one to talk! What about Mozambique huh? That time it was _you_ who barely had a plan!"

Jaune's eye began twitching as he turned back to Cardin. "We never, _ever_ discuss Mozambique. I thought we agreed on it."

Cardin huffed. "Fine. But I'm right. You've got the potential to have a harem! You just don't realize it yet!"

At that Jaune gave a final laugh while Cardin left into his room. "Pfft, who'd be into me? Jaune Arc the moderately handsome, more or less nice guy when he's not being ruthlessly efficient, cripple with the money?"

At that Jaune's brow scrunched up while Cardin's door closed behind him. "Hey! I actually sound like good boyfriend material! Huh, who woulda thought."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Finishing off her letter with her usual signature, she licked the envelope closed before writing the required things on the outside in her usual flowing cursive. Placing it on her desk so that she doesn't forget to send it later, Weiss stood up straightening out her skirt before sighing slightly and looking around.

Her team wasn't there, having gone to grab lunch a while ago and Ruby's team was… Somewhere. Where, she doesn't quite know, but somewhere that's for sure. Finally done putting the finishing touches on her projects and done writing the letter to her sister, Weiss realized that there wasn't anything for her to really do.

' _I could go train? It never hurts to put in one more minute of training after all. Though, would it really be worth the trouble? I would have to change and go grab Myrtenaster before seeing if there's a training arena ready… I don't feel like doing all of that today… It's Saturday, I should be having some fun at least! I wonder where Jaune is… Seeing him would be slightly more fun than seeing nobody that's for sure… Maybe we can even s-study together? I'm sure he has all the material down already b-but surely it wouldn't hurt to review r-right?'_

Sighing softly to herself, Weiss pondered what to do before hearing someone chatting in the hallway. Realizing that this was most likely the most excitement she'd get in a while unless she went and sought out either her team or Jaune, the heiress quietly tip-toed over to the door of her room before carefully pressing a single ear against it.

"Listen! Just get the whip, get over here and let's have some fun shall we?" Weiss' mind took a moment to process what she just heard before she stifled a gasp.

Was that Jaune... Jaune talking to a _girl_? A-about whips? A girl that _wasn't_ one of the regulars in the group?

Her face went as red as the leader of Team Aubergine's cloak. Jaune, girl, whips! Oh god. Leaning against the door more for support now than to actually listen, Weiss tried calming herself down. Surely he was talking about cattle or some sort of other domestic animal riding which can be done with w-whips right?! Riding domestic animals can be fun right?!

Right?!

"Come on! You know I like it when you whip that part! It's the best because it leaves marks for the whole world to see!" He said voice escalating in pitch to the point that even Weiss could tell he was excited.

No. Not cattle… It can't be cattle.

Just the thought of it made her feel hot in the face while it became obvious she was blushing. Curse her and her naturally pale complexion! Why was she feeling so flustered about this? What happens in Jaune's love life is exactly that! Happening in _his_ lovelife! Not hers! No reason to care!

None at all! No matter what Nora may say to Ren when she thinks Weiss isn't listening!

"Oh come on! You know I love it when you use it to write your name! Come on it's embarrassing but I can deal with the backlash in case anything bad comes of it!" He said and Weiss could imagine him trembling in excitement from the sound of his voice.

God. What kinky stuff was Jaune into and why did it make her own heart beat so fast? Surely it wasn't like that one song where sticks and stones may break her bones but chains and whips excite her!

Right?

"Oh shit! Since I'm talking to you I'll just open the lock using my semblance so just uh... Man I can't really focus while thinking of you doing the whipping later… I'll just focus on all the locks around then since that's easier." Jaune said and before Weiss could process what she'd heard and scramble away and act like it was nothing, the door was already swinging open silently her weight pushing it open.

Barely catching herself in an odd pose with her hands before she managed to hit the floor, she vaguely saw Jaune's ankles spin around before he continued talking. "I'll text you the rest."

Hanging up, he immediately crouched down wrapping an arm around her shoulders and helping her pick herself up before they were both standing there in the hallway both questioning of each other.

"Wei-" Jaune was cut of by her before he reached up and scratched the back of his head running his hands through his blonde locks after realizing he'd cut her off as well.

"Jau-" She was cut off as he was by him saying her name (as mentioned above).

"You go first." They said in complete sync making them both raise an eyebrow both in sync. Both waiting a few moments, she coughed into her fist so as to gain his attention.

"So… You got a girlfriend?" She stated awkwardly blushing a bit at the thought at everything he might be doing in the bedroom. Man, whips? Really?

Jaune chuckled. "No but if you're proposing to be mine I wouldn't say no."

"Well hardy har har. Uhh… If you don't have a girlfriend then what were you talking about when you said 'whip'?" She said instantly cursing herself for saying it even while her face heated up. Was he suggesting that she be his girlfriend? Why did that not make her feel as awkward as it likely should've made her feel?

"Oh! Wow I must've been talking far too loud if you heard me from your room all the way down the hallway like that. That's my sister." Jaune said still quizzical before an expression of understanding appeared. "Ah I got it now. No, I am not engaging in incestuous sado-masochistic sex with my twin sister in which she'd leave me with a tramp stamp nor have I done so before."

At that Weiss was sure she just choked on air. Coughing again, she felt it truly _was_ necessary. "What's the whip for? It's not often brothers talk to their sisters about whips. I can be certain Whitley has never talked to me about whips before."

"Ah. Her boyfriend has been… Not quite unloyal, but not quite… Innocent either with his thoughts you know?" Jaune said before looking down at her. Why oh why did she have to be so short. "I was just inviting her over to Beacon to punish him for a bit. You know, negative reinforcement and all that, good for the bra- Okay well maybe that's a stretch but it's good."

Weiss laughed at that despite it not being particularly funny. What was wrong with her? Why was it that whenever he was around she lost all semblance of grace or maturity?

"Anyways, I'm going to go shower since I just finished some training." He said turning back to his door and swiping his scroll over the scanner. "See you."

"Wait!" She felt herself blurt out. What was the plan here!? There was no plan! "I was wondering… Would you like to go out to Vale with me today? Just to look at the festival preparations?"

Tilting his head slightly before smiling at her Jaune shrugged. "Sure no problem. Let me just get changed and then I'll see if anyone else wants to come. Should be about ten-fifteen minutes?"

"Okay. Well… See you soon then Jaune!" She said feeling better.

At least her day would be somewhat exciting.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune hummed to himself quietly as he watched Ruby skip down the sidewalk in front of him. Dressed in a simple yet effective pair of cargo pants and a blue long sleeved shirt, he didn't feel chilly in the slightest despite the strong breeze coming off of the ocean to his left.

Currently walking along the pier near the Vale City docks with most of his friends, Jaune could admit that despite all of its awkwardness, arranging this outing was a good idea. While here he'd be able to grab some dust, last minute pieces for the armor he was making his team, and maybe grab a bite to eat or some coffee!

Well at least, that's what would've happened if he _didn't_ invite the eccentric weapons nut, the blonde head turning motorcycle enthusiast, the introverted secret cat faunus with a desire to read by the fish smelling docks, and the Schnee heiress who also happened to be an internationally popular singer/idol.

What ended up happening was, while not too far from his expectations, was just as fun as it was unproductive.

They'd stopped by a weapons shop and picked up some items for Ruby's scythe… Apparently she needed a couple new gears for where some had _mysteriously_ _broken_ during her fight with Jaune in class.

Yup… Real mysterious.

Blake had insisted they stop by a favourite book shop of hers meaning that while they all went in, they all had to ignore a certain section until she got her smut. Jaune thought _did_ pick up on an interesting book on theories about time manipulation through non-dust using science.

So… Yeah?

Overall though, it's been a nice day. After eventually voting and failing, Ruby used her leader powers to make everyone agree and outvote Weiss so that they could go for some fish and chips at the pier.

Sadly, Ruby was terrible at directions and insisted that she knew where she was going the entire time. Meaning of course, they they had travelled to thirty nine out of forty piers and not a single one had the specific restaurant she was looking for.

When he had bothered bringing it up and suggested that they perhaps go to a different shop, she'd looked so disappointed and sad, he instantly promised that he would buy her the shop once they found it just so that they could deep fry some cookies for her.

Man… Explaining that one to his mother would be a chore in and of itself… Hire someone to do it for him? Huh, that's a good idea.

"I've heard that the students from Vacuo will be arriving here today via ship and as a representative of Beacon, I see it as my duty to greet them and make pleasantries!" Weiss said breaking him out of his odd recapping thoughts.

"Why? Don't they have people for that in the system?"

"I don't know Yang… Vacuoans aren't a huge fan of _the_ system." Jaune said laughing. "You know fight the system and all that."

"Yeah! Anarchy! Burn it down! _I_ burn!" The boisterous brawler said pumping her fists in the air. "Woo!"

"Anyways, now we must simply wait for them to arrive!" Weiss said turning towards the incoming ships likely wondering which ones might be carrying the foreign students.

"Weiss… This wouldn't be just so that you can spy on them and have a upper hand on them in the tournament… Is it?" Blake said a small smile gracing her lips while she crossed her arms under her breasts.

Instantly Weiss turned on her heel pointing towards Blake. "You can't prove that! Innocent until proven guilty!"

"I prefer guilty until proven innocent…" Jaune mumbled to himself quietly. Apparently Blake heard. Her and her secret faunus hearing!

"And why would that be Jaune?" She asked still looking towards him puzzling the others who hadn't heard anything.

"It's more fun that way Blake. Makes me feel like I'm in a movie or T.V show where everyone is my enemy and I don't know who I can trust before I win, get the girl, and move to an island somewhere awaiting my sequel." He said gazing in at a particular boat which just docked nearby.

Nodding in apparent satisfaction at his answer despite how stupid it sounded out loud, Blake turned back towards the ocean likely taking discrete sniffs of the fishy air coming in.

Turning to his right and looking down a street while they took a breather, Jaune saw that a shop at the end of the road was being cordoned off by some yellow police tape. Noticing the location, and taking in the general area of the city, he determined the lease must be rather high.

Huh, that's odd.

His apparent sudden focus in that part of the city caused the present crimsonette to turn that way also until her silver eyes fell upon the sign on the wall above the store. He followed her tracks taking it in.

Jaune noticed it was a dust shop. A dust shop? In this kind of location? Robbed? Unlikely. Chances were there was some sort of vandalism by the owner so that he could claim insurance and move locations based off of the fact that it's too unsafe.

Everyone's guilty until proven innocent after all.

The group once noticing what happened made a unanimous and silent decision like something out of an anime, that they would all approach it together and inquire what happened.

Walking up to one of the detectives on scene, Jaune was going to ask before Ruby beat him to the punch. "What happened here?"

The detective likely sent by the VPD (Vale Police Department) barely looked up from his electronic notepad where he was writing down things almost certainly connected to the crime.

"Robbery… Second dust shop to be hit this week! This place is turning into a jungle…" He said before turning around walking towards the broken window.

"Ugh that's terrible." Yang tsked in an oddly sympathetic voice. Hmm… Something to look into later.

"They left all the money again!" The cop continued calling over to his partner. Why he was only filling him in on this now didn't make sense considering he was outside the building and should've informed him earlier. "Ugh, just doesn't make a lick of sense! Who needs that much dust?"

Dust stolen? Nobody would steal dust from themselves, it's currently fairly cheap! Though, even this small store going under would affect the prices a bit.

"I don't know an army?" The detective's partner chimed in playing with his suspenders a bit.

Gesturing around with his gun a bit which showed he obviously had no trigger discipline, cop number one continued. "So you uh, thinking the White Fang?"

At that Blake tensed and he could see the buildup of pressure in her shoulders and how she sank a half inch lower to the ground ready to begin doing anything other than _standing_.

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." Cop number two chimed in once more while they turned away from the shop walking back to the squad car and just leaning against it for a second.

Cops… Useless in this case apparently.

"Hmmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss said closing her eyes and crossing her arms before seeing Blake visibly tense slightly again.

"What's your problem?" Blake said calmly and as politely as she could which was admittedly not always easy when dealing with the Schnee heiress.

"What's my problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." She stated gesturing like she was above and they all below.

God. A shitstorm was coming and he was stuck in the center.

Shuddering, Jaune pulled out his scroll already locating which cameras he would need using the wireless connection and shorting them out briefly enough to hack them. Already beginning to be prepared with his own form of evidence, Jaune stood there ready to defuse the bomb and save Vale!

Not to mention the continent of Anima.

"The White Fang are hardly a collection of psychopaths." Blake said crossing her arms again. Oh boy, this isn't going to end well. "They're just a collection of misguided faunus."

He'll need to do something soon… Eventually Blake will say something she shouldn't in the heat of the moment, Weiss will say something worse, and they'll feel remorseful before hating each other's guts for all eternity… Then what would happen would likely be some sort of nuclear fallout affecting not only them, but Jaune as well.

He wouldn't let such a small thing like Blake's past or complete inequality between races separate his pack of friends… Okay well maybe the inequality thing could be a problem but come on! He's Jaune Arc!

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss said leaning forwards slightly to emphasize her point.

Preparing counter argument, preparing evidence, preparing likely responses to his own speech.

"So then they're _very_ misguided." The quiet and normally peaceful cat faunus said. 'Either way, it doesn't explain why they'd rob a dust shop in downtown Vale."

Looking over at Ruby and Yang, he could see they were looking uncomfortable. Yang was twirling a lock of her quite wonderful hair while Ruby was looking around as though in deep thought for a brief moment.

"Blake's got a point." The little reaper said before looking down at the ground slightly. 'The police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago… Maybe it was him."

"Ruby's right. He _was_ the one who did it." Expanding his scroll from its smaller form to it's larger tablet mode he held it up in front of the group playing the video. Waltzing in like he owned the place, Torchwick was in, out, broke some shit, and then left in less than three minutes. Impressive! "So… Yeah."

Seeing Yang shoot him a look of thanks and Ruby look more confident in her counter argument, Jaune couldn't help but be a bit happy. His team, Ruby's team, Team Aubergine wouldn't be falling apart anytime soon!

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Weiss said still stirring up shit. God, why does she do this? "Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal."

Oh Yang's turn for her own point!

"That's not necessarily true…" She said lilac eyes narrowing towards Blake ever so slightly.

"Hey! Stop that faunus!" Came a distressed cry from some sailer behind them.

Whirling around, Jaune was already scanning the area for the lawbreaker as they began sprinting down the street towards the pier. Coming to a stop when the road ended at the railing, he looked out onto the boat while fishing out his helmet.

Popping the pieces onto his ears he reopened it making it expand over his face while he zoomed in on the boat in front. Locking onto the movement and thermal signatures, he turned off thermal before taking a look.

Running across the deck of a boat around fifty feet away, was a blond haired guy who _sort of_ looked like Jaune. If Jaune wore open white dress shirts with no sleeves and wore chains attached to jeans.

"Thanks for the ride guys!" The teenaged boy said before jumping off the rail of the boat and onto the actual pier itself before clambering up a lamp-post.

"No good stow-away!" The sailor yelled. Obviously he wouldn't jump off of the boat after him. Oh well, looks like it's up to the hunters on the job.

"Hey! I'm a great stow-away! A no good stow-away woulda been caught!" He shouted peeling a banana. Wait? Banana? He was eating a fucking banana in a time like this!? Hanging from his tail? A tail? A fucking monkey?!

Stopping the Mozambique flashback, Jaune instantly began wondering how painful it must be to hold yourself up by your tail.

Technically, the size of the tail from what he can see, doesn't have enough of a surface area on it's connection to the main body to make using it _not_ painful in the way it was currently being used.

The cops, apparently having caught on and having rushed over stood at the bottom waiting. "Hey! Get down from there this instant!" Cop number one said only to find the banana's peel thrown at his face moments later.

A stow-away and a litterer with a disrespect for authority? Fuck this guy!

Flipping off the lamp-post in an amazing display of agility and rolling along the wooden pier, the monkey faunus charged up the stairs laughing all the way. Running off the stairs and rushing past them, he went past the girls one by one before slowing down in a way which was barely noticeable and winking at Blake.

You know what? Doubly fuck this guy. No! Fucking quintuple fuck this guy!

Sticking out his foot before he could pass him, Jaune felt contact against his foot only to watch as the criminal stow-away bastard flirting with Jaune's gi-partner thing that's a girl, go flying and crash into the ground seconds later with a groan.

Turning towards the accident, the teens watched perplexed as the cops having now caught up took out their tasers and tased him like six times. Wow, that was neat to watch. Jaune's never personally used a taser itself, but it made him respect the cops when the popped cuffs on that guy and began heading down to the station.

"Huh. Nice one Jaune." Yang said putting her fist out for a fist bump. "Come on! Don't leave me _Yang-ing_."

Groaning at her shitty pun he fist bumped her anyways getting a warm smile which made him feel all fuzzy in return. "Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes!"

Hey that doesn't make sense. If all the students from Vacuo are coming today, why the fuck did this guy's stow-away on a boat for no reason? Is he retarded? Monkeys _are_ shown to be less evolved than humans when it comes to being orderly and following rules of society… Hmm….

"Wait! We must observe him! Follow that police car!" Weiss shouted pointing at the offending police car. Noting how far away it was, only with Ruby's speed would they make it there on time.

"Take the side streets!" He shouted. Technically, they should go straight to the station and drop him off. Best spot for interception is… There!

Charging down the sidewalk and weaving between people, Jaune led the way as the hunters in training ran down the streets after the police car. Turning the corner, he saw it at the edge of his sigh- There was a thud and a groan from Jaune as he cringed feeling some blood dripping off his knee and a body underneath himself.

Muttering apologies and getting himself up before offering the nice lady a hand, he hoisted her up too watching as her eyes narrowed on his mechanical hand before she brushed herself off and saluted. "Salutations!"

"Umm. Hello." Ruby said awkwardly. They've been training her to be better in these situations, but she still isn't quite great yet.

"Are you… Okay?" Yang asked tilting her head and looking honestly concerned for someone she's never even met. Man, what a woman eh? Seems like so far she'd make the perfect mother!

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking!" The quirky orange haired girl said before bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. Hey, wait a second. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

And so went the awkward first greetings between them and Penny.

"Hi! I'm Ruby."

"Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your hea- Yang!"

"Jaune… Hey, can you tell me what the square route of sixty five thousand eight hundred and seventy four is?" He said spitting it out. If what he's feeling with his semblance is correct, then this should be interesting.

"Of course! It's five hundred and thirteen point three one eight six one four five zero eight…" And so Penny, the first ever android capable of creating aura, was introduced to Jaune Arc, first person not involved with the project to figure it out.

"Very good math skills. You're quite the computer aren't you?" Jaune said flippantly getting Blake to glare at his impoliteness.

Penny took no offense yet he noted the subtle shift in her internal mechanisms. "I'm just really good with numbers!"

"I'm sure you are. Please, find me so that we can discuss things one day." Jaune said grinning at her. This is going to be an interesting conversation that's for sure… Just a matter of time.

"Of course!"

"Well… Sorry for running into you!" With that, Jaune turned on his heel and began walking back in the direction of the fish and chip place they were looking for… Hopefully Ruby wouldn't notice that he was leading.

Leaving the quirky secret robot behind, they continued walking down the street while Weiss spoke up. "Now! Where did that faunus riff raff head to?"

"Stop calling him that! Stop calling him riff raff, stop calling him a degenerate, he's a person!" Blake spoke up once more igniting old napalm covered shit they really should've left behind ages ago.

Well, at least he'd be able to use that speech he'd prepared.

"Oh I'm sorry! Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can, or this lamp post as a lamp post?" Weiss said pointing at the various items in the vicinity and Jaune couldn't help but think something…

' _I'll have you know Lamppost is a filthy word. They prefer the term: Immobile illuminating staffs…'_

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law! Give him time, and he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang!" Weiss said.

Welp, this is it. Blake goes Ballistic. Ballistic Blake. That's her name, being ballistic every so often is her game!

"Ugh you ignorant little brat!" Blake said before turning and preparing to leave before Jaune's hand clamped onto her shoulder with an iron grip stopping her in her tracks while she turned around to face Weiss again.

"How dare you talk to me like that! I'm your friend!" The white themed girl spat out.

" _You're_ a judgemental little girl." Said Blake.

Wow, this is turning into a complete _catfight_. All right… He'll get out on his own.

"What in the world makes you say that?" Weiss shouted throwing her arms around.

"Assuming he's to go join a terrorist group just based on his species makes you just as big of a scoundrel as you make him out to be!" Blake said pointing at her intensely in some way he'd never manage.

"You admit it! The White Fang _is_ just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss said twisting things to her advantage. Oh well, you don't grow up around Jaques Schnee and learn nothing!

"That's not what you meant and I know it!" Blake was preparing to storm off again before once more he latched his hand onto her arm closing it around her significantly thinner wrist and keeping her there.

"Let's not end this here okay everyone? Now I'm going to tell you why both of you are wrong, and why I, Jaune Arc, am always right." Weiss scowled as Blake did while Yang tried and just barely managed to stop her laugh at his statement.

"Now. First off. Weiss, you can't base an entire species based off of the actions of the few who've gone to terrorism to fight for what they believe in. If you were a faunus and joined up, how would you feel about the White Fang? Would you see it as a righteous cause? Fighting for the freedom of your entire species against the oppression of another larger one making life hell?" Jaune paused to let that sink in. "I know that they've done terribly, terrible things to your family, and I'm sorry. But don't assume that every faunus lawbreaker is a part of their crowd, and don't assume every faunus will be as crazy as that!"

"Hell! Most faunus as shown through all recent polls, _despise_ the White Fang. While the White Fang works in small communities, in the ones where humans are prevalent it just causes hatred against Faunus similar to what you're showing right now." Jaune said before looking around. "Even here it's easily possible. We, as the human race are making lives of Faunus _everywhere_ hell because we can't judge people based off of the individual and not off the group."

"Hell, _I_ could technically be apart of the White Fang if I wanted to be! Would you be any less harsh on me just because I'm not Faunus?" Jaune said taking in a deep breath. "Judge and condemn every Faunus who goes there for an unjust cause. Judge the ones that go there simply to hurt. The people there to stop oppression and eventually find _peace_? Those are the ones you should not _empathize_ with, but _sympathize_ with. Think about what they're fighting for before thinking about the fact that they're fighting."

"Now Blake… You're being a bit too harsh. Weiss' judgement is clouded because of her environment growing up and even if it is a bit… Extreme… Find a way to give her another shot and don't do what she was doing okay? You assume that the White Fang have some sort of right or are technically able to do the things they do because they're fighting for Faunus rights, but even then… They shouldn't be fighting in the first place. What they _should_ be doing is getting _every single faunus_ on their side so that there _is no other side_ for them to go to… They should make a way so that all Faunus unite... Not to rise up in rebellion but to simply show that they _can_ that they _can_ unite as one people and protest what's right."

Taking another deep breath as he reached his conclusion, Jaune continued once more. "If every faunus were to protest at once, one third of the population of the entire world we're standing on will be protesting something. That… _That_ would mean something, _that_ would make changes… Not even politicians, not even countries, not even fate, can stand against people who constantly refuse to give in and give up… The truth is, most Faunus have it good and are oppressed _because_ of the White Fang. It's been shown by the greatest analysts of our time you guys."

"So please, give me a break from all this dialogue and think about what I said before making up like the women you are and please… _Please_ I beg you just go back to being your angsty, high and mighty, strong independent women you are so that I can go get a Pep-Schnee… Seriously, my throat is _parched_. Had I known I was giving a speech today I would've brought water or something." Jaune finally managed out feeling his mouth almost completely dry from his gum flapping.

Blake shook his hand off her wrist making it fall down to his side before she stood there one arm crossed in front her her chest while her face looked downwards.

Weiss meanwhile was doing something similar if not the same… Simply looking down at the cracked asphalt below them, Jaune had no idea what Weiss was thinking.

"Weiss…" Blake began rubbing her arm again and Jaune couldn't help but smile. He'd talk to her later about all this and make her feel better, but for now this would do. "I'm sorry… For everything I said and my tone… I'm sorry for assuming that you didn't like them simply because you're a rich daughter of a Schnee… Please… Can you find it in yourself to forgive me?"

Weiss looked up her, icy blue eyes this time looking different. Where before, there was a certain lacking, now there was a new thing filling a non existent void from before… "I'll forgive you if you forgive me Blake. I'm sorry for being… Me, I suppose. It's just that my family, people I know have been executed at the few people who _are_ there to hurt and to destroy… Please forgive me."

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Came Yang's voice over the two as she came to stand to one side of Jaune's before Ruby came to stand on the other side.

Jaune piped up. "We're going to just assume you both forgive each other and go back to Beacon okay? Sorry Ruby, I'll have to buy you that fish and chips shop later…"

"No problem Jaune!" Ruby said before twiddling with her thumbs and looking up a bit. "Though, you weren't _actually_ going to buy me that restaurant right?"

Jaune laughed pulled her towards him in an odd one handed hug to his side. "C'mon Rubes! I'm an Arc and an Arc never goes back on their word!"

' _I Jaune Arc from this day forward solemnly swear to do everything in my power to keep this team... This group… This family together. No matter what it be, fate itself, the White Fang, the grimm, the gods themselves. This is my group… There may be others like it, but this one is mine.'_

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Holy fuck! Done! At eight thousand words of story, this came out twice the length I was intending today! Holy fucking shit I'm too nice to you guys! Anyways, now please, leave a review. I know, I feel deep in my bones a whole bunch of you are going to point out flaws and complain that I did it wrong or it wasn't handled correctly, but I feel as though this one was.

On a lighter note, I arrested Sun for now. Why? I don't like him. I am Ghira.

Now, leave a review and have a wonderful night! I'm going to cry myself to sleep, wake up, pack, go to the doctor's, play games, and then leave on my vacation so it'll be a while since I see you!

Have a wonderful night!

(My smut fic is out. Go read it. It's called 'When Life Gives You Lemons' in that terrible punny fashion I love to name things in.)

 **Review Responses:**

 **Frank Horrigan:** Yeah, you're a pretty quick reviewer that's for sure! Makes me wonder what it's like waiting for this… Also, killing Cthulhu on _one_ faithful day? That would take twelve days of intense battle at least!  
 **BarkingFox:** Not _soon_ but _maybe_ one day… Can't say anything more.

 **Natsu vi Kurosaki:** Yeah! Yang with a suit of mass destruction would be awesome! Sadly, I think she'd go to brush her hair and rip it out before going _ballistic_. Get it?

 **Random O' Panda:** God, it's good to know someone else understands my struggle with that.

 **Stranger823543:** I may not be a genius in technicality, but I can count how far away I am using the amount of digits on one hand. Writing Fanfiction has nothing to do with being genius or not by the way. Also, Jaune has no way to know how the story could possibly end, so I don't know why it's giving you that impression!~

 **DrackNath:** We'll see some Knightshade fluff next chapter!  
 **1st Dragon King:** Yeah, the north U.S will remain fairly chill until North Korea starts nuking either first or in retaliation, misses Seattle, and fucks me over instead.

 **Doctorn:** Yeah! Fill me up! Fill me up real good with those reviews you stud! It's not a plot point! Just a funny thing. Since you know, Cardin's a big jock who doesn't seem the kind for poetry.

 **desdelor97:** thanks mate!

 **Raidentensho:** Good idea! See you!

 **WyattMoore:** They've known each other for three days, a kiss wasn't going to happen. Though I like how you noticed what I was teasing at there.

 **Wolveblade:** Your review is quite literally just 'F .' What does this cryptic message mean?

 **Yifto:** The original was more popular by one hundred, but only because it had twice the amount of chapters. Technically, this one is better efficiency wise. Thanks for the kind words mate!

Well that's it. I'm out. Time for some _me_ time! Leave a review lads and lassies! Please! (Maybe I should just go into review whoring full time?)

-DragonManMax


	11. Chapter 9

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note :** Hello ladies and gentlemen! Let me answer all of your questions as to why I haven't been updating, and why I actually do have a good reason! (I was meant to come back last week, but vacation and other stuff got in the way before I posted a chapter and life crapped on me again.)

For one, last week I was feeling really terrible. The Tuesday I woke up and I felt bad. I mean seriously, I never get sick, but when I do, it's terrible. But this time, I didn't have any symptoms of being sick, except for simply not feeling well, and being tired and unmotivated. Naturally, I thought I somehow managed to get myself depressed or something. This however, wasn't the case as it turns out the smoke in the air from the wildfires all over my province actually got in my bloodstream like doctors were predicting, and made it so that my body felt like it was fighting a terrible cold the entire time it wasn't. Also, it possibly could've caused a minor brain inflammation in some people, but I was luckily saved from that. (Seems like I was at least.)

Second, school started that Tuesday _as well as me being sick_. That drained my will to do anything until I felt better, so I just slept as soon as I got home for the most part. But alas, it rained, I'm feeling fantastic, and things at school are going so well something bad is going to happen to me soon!

Third but not least, I think my trusty Razer Blackwidow Keyboard which has served me well over these five years is finally dying. For some reason it keeps turning off sometimes just when I boot up the computer, and that basically stops me from being able to use it for a day. No matter what I do, if it turns off it comes back on completely randomly.

So please, forgive me ladies and gents. While I may be rusty, things will hopefully go well with this chapter. It might not be long, but it might be quite so.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter IX**

* * *

Stepping off of the Bullhead, Jaune checked his watch. He had around two hours before the doors closed and he'd have to come back the next day. While Jaune didn't necessarily want to do it, he's got to before the next day. By then, whichever school he belonged to would already have gone to get him making his plan, and entire reasoning moot.

After all, why trip a stowaway if not to go back and get them later claiming it was an accident before getting information out of them?

It was _definitely_ not just because he winked at Blake. Nope, not at all. In fact, if you so much as insinuate that, Jaune will have a lawyer on your doorstep in a moments notice showing you a document beginning the suing process for spreading slander about the heir to Arc Industries.

Yup, definitely not because of the wink at all.

Reaching up and straightening his shirt out a bit, Jaune checked himself out in his scroll while he walked striding through the airship docks between people hoping to grab a shuttle into Beacon, or those coming off one.

After all, it's a Friday night and that means time to party.

Stepping out of the airship docking complex and waving over a taxi, he told the man to head over to the police station. Relaxing into the leather seat of the taxi, he sighed thinking of what to do next.

The walk back to Beacon had been, while much less tense than before, still not a too pretty affair. While Blake and Weiss seemed to be able to put their differences aside enough to forgive each other and act cordial like usual, their friendship was still strained and it was only a matter of time before they were at each other's throats again.

Blake… While she was arguably more in the right than Weiss, she still shouldn't have said what she said... After all, it's fairly hard to find any excuse to vehemently defend the White Fang since they went all psycho crazy.

Thinking about it a bit closer now, he realized what she was doing.

Rather than defending the organization as a whole and their message, she was defending the people inside. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing in this case seeing as most of them are indeed like her, being dragged into it in a search for peace soon finding themselves with no way out and a gun duct taped to their hand.

But still, should she really be defending them?

If one of them had any brains, they'd revolt against the current leader making them so violent, flush out all his or her supporters, and make it so that the group splits, or reforms back to its own ways. Naturally, it wouldn't be as simple as that and would require someone of considerable intellect to organize it all together perfectly, but maybe if they were to work as whole, things would be better.

But still, if there were people there like her who want to leave, they deserve that choice don't they? While Blake never truly had the choice, she'd chosen anyways… Really, the fault lies in the leaders of the White Fang.

Now that they've inspired fear and created fear among the populace as well as some supporters, what they should do now is open themselves for negotiations once more. Perhaps try and get a better plot of land than Menagerie and find a way to gain a lot of money before being able to wield enough trading influence to cause entire markets to crash.

Then… That's when they should barter for their rights utterly and completely. At least, that's one of _his_ plans if her were to ever run the thing. It's never going to happen, but life always throws surprises doesn't it?

Watching the nightlife of Vale flash by outside of the window of the taxi, he noted how they turned and were now heading down the street the police station was on. Far too nice for his tastes, if anything, they should build the police department in the middle of a place high in crime so as to increase authoritarial presence and reduce crime that way.

Thinking back to the problem at hand, Jaune finally voiced one of the many questions in his mind.

What would he do about the White Fang?

Technically, it's almost all Blake's problem. They're all after her, and will simply get rid of anyone in the way of getting to her. Plain and simple. If there's one thing he could count on, it was that revenge drove people blindly, and currently, they're blindly chasing Blake.

Of course, that in itself could be a false couldn't it?

The second he and Blake met, he likely became a target. Actually, scratch that. Jaune Arc, heir to Arc Industries, was likely a target already. It's likely only due to the personal army they raised and his own training that they've kept away for the time they have.

Now that he's met Blake, it's almost guaranteed that he's got a target painted on his back…

Huh, guess it really _is_ his problem after all. Well, now time to think of a solution… No… That's not quite true either. He'd have come up with a solution either way. Why? Because Blake is his… Partner. Blake is his partner, and he couldn't imagine what he would be like without having met her.

Maybe he'd have been the gloomy artsy type?

Suppressing the urge to vomit at that thought, Jaune figured that if there was any one thing he'd do, it was that Jaune's find her a way to get closure, to succeed, to banish her demons.

Paying the taxi driver, Jaune stepped out onto the sidewalk ignoring the steaming pile of dog crap sitting there. Wow taxi driver, couldn't have chosen a worse spot.

Walking into the front entrance of the police station, Jaune walked up to the receptionist. She was a little thing, probably five feet tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. Nothing astounding that would make him gape in awe like some people at Beacon, but she was indeed above average.

Smiling politely at him despite how tired she probably was, the receptionist greeted him. "Hello how may I help you today sir?"

Leaning against what was essentially the bar that every receptionist had, Jaune grabbed her business card tucking it into his pocket before beginning. "My friend's in lock up right now and I'm here to pay the bail."

She moved her wheel chair closer to the computer before making a few clicks and bringing herself to a screen he couldn't see. "We have several people on there right now… One for public exposure, another for drunken harassment… One for resisting arrest and smuggling… _Himself_ into the country apparently."

Sighing, Jaune nodded. "The last one."

She looked up at him after a couple more clicks giving a teasing smile. "My, my, getting in with the wrong crowd?"

"Friend is a large exaggeration. More like acquaintance." Jaune laughed before continuing and taking out his wallet. "Anyways, what's the bail?"

Clicking a few more times and typing a bit, she turned the screen towards him pointing to the numbers with a pencil. "Around forty five hundred lien for the resisting arrest and throwing a banana peel at an officer with malicious intent, while the next sixty five hundred is for smuggling himself in."

Clenching his jaws and wincing Jaune reached into his wallet pulling out his debit card. "Can't be helped I suppose. Hopefully he pays me back for this."

Following the required steps and signing all the required paperwork, Jaune finished up with a flourish after leaving his signature on the pad she gave to him. Standing back and leaning against the bar again, he made small talk with her over his shoulder for a small while before eventually two officers came down the opposite hallway with the 'prisoner' kept between them.

Sighing in the general direction of the man who just cost him eleven thousand lien, he smiled at the receptionist before leaving pushing open the doors, his metal hands making a gentle metal on metal tinging noise as he did so.

Stepping outside into the cold night air, he bunched up his shoulders wishing he'd brought a coat before turning on the heaters in his arms. As the warmth flowed through his shoulders making him feel all nice and cozy, he heard a 'Wait up! Hey you!'' from behind him as the door slammed shut.

Looking back, he saw the same faunus from earlier, shirt still open and everything looking at him with a thankful look in his eyes. "Thanks man! I don't really know who you are, which we should fix like right away, but thanks!"

Sighing as he turned to the excitable monkey faunus who apparently forgot the face of the person who'd put him there only a couple hours ago. Extending his hand outwards while heating up the palm a bit, Jaune watched as the other man shook his hand. "The name's Sun nice to meet you man!"

"Jaune. Arc." He said retracting his hand before turning towards the general direction of Beacon. Beginning to head that way, he noticed there were no footsteps and made a hand gesture to follow. "Come on. I have some questions for you."

"Oh! Yeah man let me just tie my shoe just a sec." Sun said already on one knee attempting to tie his shoes and failing. Hearing him mutter some angry curses, Jaune just crossed his arms standing there in the night for the few minutes it took for his accomplice to tie a simple knot.

Apparently satisfied with the accomplishment of tying his shoe, his companion joined him seconds later walking by his side. Letting the silence stretched on for a few moments, Jaune made sure he was feeling awkward before continuing.

"So… Why were you stowing away on that boat?" He said bluntly watching as the other man stopped mid-step and stumbled before catching himself and straightening himself out again. "I mean seriously. Just… Why? I mean, really… To me it just doesn't make sense."

"What's there not to make sense about it? I got on a boat without a ticket, and stowed away!" His fellow blonde said side hopping a bit forwards into Jaune's path without warning..

"I didn't ask how you stowed away on that boat, I think I might be able to figure that out myself, I'm just wondering why?" Jaune said rolling his eyes. This guy… Was currently not impressing Jaune all that much. "When I say what's wrong with you, I mean: Why would you stow away on a boat?"

If he seriously had _no reason_ to get onto that boat and stow away, Jaune would be seriously disappointed. How was he supposed to get information of any kind if all he was therefore was just to be on a boat? A boat he didn't have to be on because his entire class was coming anyways for the tournament on a different boat on the same day?

The other guy shrugged. "Why not man? It's not like I was gonna get caught."

Sighing, about the fact that apparently it hadn't registered to Sun yet that he _had_ been caught, Jaune repeated his question. "I mean, why stow away on the boat when as a Vytal Tournament contestant from another school the trip is already paid for? Your entire team is likely at Beacon already totally fine without having to spend a night in prison."

Sun shrugged again. "Where's the fun in going with the flow man? Sometimes you just gotta shake it up you know?"

Jaune was prepared to kill someone. Oh no, seems like the only person around was Sun. A shame that their not-friendship had to end so soon and like that. Sighing silently that he couldn't actually kill Sun, Jaune just continued.

"No, I don't know. Real men make their own flow thank you very much." Jaune said. Yup, a real man wrestles his future from the grasping hands of fate and makes it his own. "Now, learn anything useful on the boat?"

"Well yeah! I learned to tie knots, and steal soup without a bowl, and I like got this one time where I was-" He continued rambling on before Jaune stopped him there. Obviously he _didn't_ know how to tie knots, but that's fine.

"I think you misunderstand. I mean actual _information_. After all, a ship that tolerates stowaways until landfall likely has its fair share of shady characters." Jaune said explaining his reasoning. Sure it didn't _quite_ work that way, but they must've known he was there. If Mozambique taught him anything, it was that a chef never tolerated his _soup_ of all things being stolen. "So, anything about criminal activity? Stock markets going up in one portion of the market anywhere? Information on any teams from your school? Which school would that be by the way?"

"I wouldn't say tolerate! I'm just a great stow away!" Sun thumped his hand on his chest twice while puffing it out.

"I'm sure you are man." Jaune said patting his back a couple times. Along the way, he couldn't help but notice how muscly that shoulder was. Like _damn_. Jaune wished he had shoulders that good. Though to be fair, his mechanical ones were pretty cool too. "School name?"

"Haven born and raised baby! Okay well, actually I'm from Vacuo, but I moved to Mistral a while back and go to Haven now. I'm part of Team SSSN! Better known as Team Sun! And yes, that does cause confusion." He said adding in the last part as an afterthought. Perhaps he thought he sounded modest if he added that part?

"Seems like it might. I know " Jaune said. Okay, so now he knew generally what academy he went to and what team he was apart of. Now he at least knew what academy he could charge or rather, get his money back from for paying for them. Yup, even on foreign soil they had to pay bail. No diplomatic immunity here! "Learn anything else of use you got? Preferably something about stocks or something."

Sun scratched his chin for a second running his hands over that same 'middle-of-puberty' beard every guy seemed to have, making a dull scratching noise before he snapped his fingers. "Actually I do have something else! A couple of the guys on there were mentioning a huge shipment of Schnee dust in the next couple of days to replace what's been stolen!"

Jaune laughed at that. "Replace? More like sell back more for a slightly reduced price so they can still make a profit. But you know what, that actually was useful. Thanks I suppose."

Sun winked and cheekily smiled at him. "No problem! Now, you're a Beacon student right?"

Jaune nodded. "First year yeah."

Sun nodded continuing onwards swinging on one arm around an immobile illuminating staff before continuing down the sidewalk. "Mind showing me the way there? I don't really know my way around yet."

"Yeah sure. We're heading to the Bullheads right now to get the late flight back. Then we'll disembark and _you_ will go explain this to your teacher and have _them_ transfer me back the funds for bailing you out." Jaune said watching as Sun was happy then slumped for a second. "Don't worry about it. You're lucky. If you weren't at a combat school, they wouldn't even consider paying for something like that for you."

The monkey faunus nodded as they made their way to the Bullheads. Few other words were exchanged, though Jaune did make sure to get ahold of his number and make sure it belonged to him to before continuing. After all, it just wouldn't do for Sun to scam him would it?

And no before anyone says anything, that's not racism. That's just Jaune assuming that he'd get scammed for being generous. Humans are capable of terrible acts too you know!

Parting ways with a few goodbyes once they got off, Jaune made his way back to the room exhausted. Hopefully he wouldn't have to do much more today. Walking back with Sun to extract the small amount of information he actually got was tiring, and the speech he had to think of earlier was annoying.

Not to mention of course that simply spending money in large amounts like he did today for sun always put Jaune in a bad mood. Sure, he has money, and spends money like anyone else, but when he needs to he's got no problem. For no real reason except to learn a bit, it was a bit pointless.

Yawning and stretching his arms so he could feel his back pop, he slightly wished his shoulders popped too but oh well. That's slightly hard to do with robotic arms.

Scanning his scroll over the pad beside the door, Jaune slunk into the room silently before sitting down onto the bed with an 'oof'. Thankfully he was quiet enough not to wake any of the sleep-loving girls in his room.

Sitting there for a few minutes just to relax, Jaune wished he could give himself a massage but once again, his arms prevented him from doing that… Sighing, he got up again and grabbed his pajamas before heading into the bathroom and putting them on putting his dirty 'out on the town' clothes in the hamper.

Sitting back down on the bed, he looked and saw the sleeping form of Ruby latched onto a pillow. Maybe he should get her a body pillow of some kind for the holidays. Looking over to Yang, he noticed her once again sleeping strangely half on and off the covers despite the cold.

Sighing and getting up, Jaune moved her leg underneath before pulling the covers back up over her watching as she continued sleeping into dreamland, but now in her pillow. Looking over to the room's last occupant not including himself Jaune noticed Blake curled up under her own blankets.

Or rather, Blake-ts. Buh dum tiss. Get it? Ah who cares anymore.

Taking in the bow still on her hair, Jaune shook his head. He'd have to convince her to take it off sometime soon.

So that she could finally be herself.

Not of course to mention, they made her look a thousand times cuter than she already was.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Waking up with a jolt Jaune panicked for a second grabbing onto anything he could get his hands on whether it be his shirt, his skin or his blanket and drew it all towards him just to ensure that there was something there.

He's in bed and not falling. Good. Man, those dreams are the weirdest. Where you think you're falling, and then you wake up only to be on the edge of bed or something and you end up freaking out.

Breathing heavily but quietly after a moment, he looked at the sunlight filtering through the window and calmed down promptly. Still breathing heavily, Jaune sat there for a few minutes battling the headrush associated with bolting upwards from a lying down position before he finally felt better.

Swinging out of bed, he got onto the floor just fine. Grabbing onto his robe instead of his clothes this morning instead, he looked at the clock. Yup, Saturday morning, nine a.m. Everyone's slept in which was good, they deserved it.

Walking over to the bathroom, he stepped inside turning on the shower to hot and waiting for a few seconds before getting in. Letting it wash over him, Jaune sighed feeling much better. Man, those dreams were the weirdest.

Soaping himself up and grabbing onto the shampoo, he went over his hair with it letting it soak in while he got the soap off before he rinsed his hair. Stepping out, he grabbed onto a comb, his deodorant, his nail clippers, and a towel.

Drying himself and tying his hair up with the towel like a woman might during a spa day, Jaune clipped his toenails before spraying on deodorant and putting on his robe. Tying it around his waist, he made sure it was all secure before taking off the towel and shaking his hair loose.

Combing his hair, Jaune put his stuff back into his drawer before tidying up the bathroom and stepping back out into the room. Going over to his desk, he saw his still sleeping teammates and smiled.

Things would be okay in the end. He would make sure of that.

Grabbing the earpieces which morphed into his helmet, Jaune synced up his scroll sending over the files for the armor he was making Blake. Projecting it in augmented reality in front of him using a 3-D model he created using a scan of her she let him take much to her embarrassment, he saw it all.

Coloured in a semi-glossy black, it seemed to blend in with the background despite the fact that it was completely un-matching with the red which made up most of the Beacon room. There was a set of armor plates around a half inch thick starting just below her breasts going up to just below her back which was all the way around to her back protecting her upper spine. They were slightly thick to protect the torso, but still looked good interlocking leaving it with a still smooth and sleek look and design of slightly glossy black.

Looking at the shoulder pads, he reached out plucking one of them off digitally using the sensors in his arms to feel the weight and dimensions he programmed it with. It was a complicated code which took him months when he was younger, but ever so helpful. Sadly, making actually tech it would work with was expensive so it sat on the sidelines for now.

Twirling around the shoulder plate in his hands he plucked off the other one before tossing it into the virtual trashcan.

Rotating the model with a spin of his hand he took in the rest.

While the plates were slightly glossy, the parts making up the entire one piece suit covering her body was all black and smooth but not glossy. The interlocking plates would interlock and ripple at intense pressure and should be able to stop a bullet, but internal bleeding and bruising would naturally still be a problem.

Loading up his physics engine and putting a revolver in his hand, he walked about fifteen feet away before pointing it straight at 3-D model Blake's chest. Whispering a quick 'I'm sorry' towards his digital partner, he promptly shot her in the chest twice watching and listening as the plates made a brief clicking noise before releasing.

Walking forwards, he looked at the bullet hole in the armor before reaching in and digging it out pulling the bullet from where it was stuck in the plate. Perfect, the plates worked just fine. Absorbing the bullet rather than deflecting it. It also seems as though there was little bruising as the impact moved completely throughout the chassis rather than directly towards her chest.

Huh, it worked better than he thought it would.

Moving past her chest and midriff, he took in the all covering black one piece. Should he give her a helmet? Nah, it'll probably be fine. After all, that might impair her vision and cause her already enhanced faunus hearing to become distorted or become a disadvantage.

Looking at the black sleek metal boots which finished just below her knee, he looked. It was overall sleek, sexy, effective, and perfect for someone as suited as Blake. Jaune considered putting a mini-gun on the back just to see her reaction when she saw it, but decided against it.

Swapping some of the tiny interlocking metal pieces making up the one piece, he put in some magnetic ones on the back to grab onto her weapon without ruining the general sleek look.

Nodding now satisfied, he rubbed his hands. While developing the actual armor was tough, creating it would be easy. After all, his company owned several 3-D printing factories which dealt with laser printing as well so it should be fairly quick if he turned them all on after hours.

Saving the file away before sending it to the lads in charge of R&D he had them start on it right away before he went and grabbed his clothes from his bed finally getting out of his robe. That was an efficient hour.

Walking back out of the bathroom dressed in a long sleeved black shirt and some black pants, he left his shoes by the door before making his bed and checking the news. Noticing something about a synchronized robbery, he tapped on that opening the new file.

" _Here we see the infamous Roman Torchwick enter, and exit the store in less than two minutes getting in and out with most if not all of the dust, before breaking something on his way out. His men seem to all be wearing matching uniforms of all black with red ties and sunglasses."_

Skipping forwards a bit, Jaune moved to the part about it being _synchronized_.

" _While Roman Torchwick was robbing one place, it's believed his accomplices were robbing another. Here, if we put the footage side by side, you can see the robberies take place mere moments from each other, in and out taking both of the same things."_

Zooming in, Jaune paused the video before going frame by frame, looking at the one man who seemingly finished moving frames later. Noticing how his body was turned, Jaune went even slower, seeing how he glanced towards the camera.

There, stretched out onto maybe four frames total, was the one man, and on his face a white and red mask.

The White Fang and Torchwick were working together.

The White Fang wanted dust, Torchwick was simply helping them organize the robberies and helping supply larger quantities than they're able of getting on their own. He was showing them to higher priority targets, yielding large to decent reward for little to nonexistent risk.

Where else had less risk than the docks in the middle of a Saturday night?

Surely the Schnee's would protect their cargo right? Why would they not? Oh, right. Insurance money. Why would they care if they lost a bit of dust? Insurance would cover it for them… It's impossible for it to be an inside job though, right?

While Jacques may not be liked much by his miners, he made sure that his office workers, the important people, he made sure each and every one of them was firmly in his pocket. There was little to no one Jaune could think of who'd leak this information to terrorists.

Shaking his head, Jaune continued onwards. He'd make the awkward call to Jacques saying that there might be a mole in his company somewhere later, for now, he had to do something.

Turning on the radio to the air and boating channel provided to hunters while he watched Blake shift a bit in her bed, Jaune synced the sound to his earpieces playing and listening to all calls going in and out.

" _Base V, this is the captain of Freighter Sixteen here requesting access to the port…"_

There was nothing but radio silence for a few moments before another voice came over, this time with much less static.

" _This is Base V, Freighter Sixteen you are cleared for landing in ten hours."_

Ten hours until they arrived. Then assuming it took one or two hours for the cargo to be unloaded using the cran system currently installed there, that meant it would be unattended by nine.

There would be security patrol men there all night, but they can't cover all the docks at once, it would be easy for them. In, out, and nobody the wiser until the Bullheads are spotted carrying containers of dust over the city.

Jaune's eyes widened as he realized the truth.

Maybe somebody of considerable cunning _had_ taken over the White Fang. Mentally thrashing himself for underestimating an entire organization, Jaune went and shook Blake. Surely he should've realized that they were more intelligent than they seemed!

Stupid. For all of his one hundred and eighty I.Q points, he hadn't figured it out and now it's almost too late. Preparations had to be done. They had to be done, now.

"Ugh… Five more minutes." His irritated partner said pulling the covers closer to herself while she pouted. Feeling his heart melt, Jaune knew he had to get this over with quickly lest she best him unknowingly by being far too adorable.

"Blake. This is important. _Really_ important." Jaune said whisperering it towards her bow getting a odd twitch in response which smacked against his face. Whoops, looks like he was a bit too close there. But she smelt so nice!... What was that… Petunias?

Rolling over Blake to face him, Jaune tapped her forehead until her face scrunched up and she glared at him albeit a bit groggily. "What?"

"We need to talk." He said. "Now."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Done. Not much dialogue this chapter with the main girls, but alas, we needed Jaune to get Sun out, and some other stuff to happen. As you can see Jaune's piecing it together… If you can, then kudos to you.

Don't worry if you can't though, it's tricky and never before done for the docks arc. But know that everything I do or plan in this story, I make it so that you, the reader can figure it out for yourself in advance if you really try.

So, please, enjoy yourselves and leave a review praising my triumphant return like Anikin back from the dead as Vader! (Spoilers for Star Wars.) I hope my 'excuses' are acceptable. Since you know, they're real.

Now, review responses, then I'm crashing. Good night lads and ladies.

 **Review Responses:**

 **desdelor 97** : Thanks man. That's been in the planning for about a year now.

 **rwby1989:** Don't worry, matchmaker Cardin will be back soon. Sun… I have stuff for him planned as well.

 **Stranger923533:** Nah man it's all good! Sorry, was a bit of a prick myself.

 **roxasduelwielder:** If I ever have extra time after finishing one of these, count on it!

 **DrackNath:** FUCK! Fluff got lost somewhere in the four weeks since updating. Don't worry, it'll be back soon. Not _really_ soon, but soon.

 **X3runner:** Haha, that would be funny. But yeah, Sun's reason for being with Blake always annoyed me too.

 **Uchiha Rai:** Thank you! I only hope I can continue impressing you all.

 **Flametusk:** Nice man! I saw the eclipse while I was there too. Full and everything. Talk about spectacular! I fell asleep in the middle of reading it man. School got me tired.

 **Frank Horrigan:** Yeah… The Barcelona Attacks are far too irrelevant now to talk about anymore :(

 **Random O' Panda:** Yup, he'll think he has a chance. Too bad he's not that great at thinking.

 **1st Dragon King:** I'm sorry!  
 **runelt99:** That is correct yes. One day Jaune will buy Ruby _everything_.

 **lordrednight:** Thanks man! Mozambique (shudders) we don't speak about Mozambique.

 **Josh Spicer:** Changed it a bit. I'll go put the spelling correct and better version up now.

 **psp reader:** Thanks!

 **ComradeSquirrel:** Thanks man!

 **SaintMichael95:** See the above for them discovering the White Fang are working with Torchwick.

 **Guest:** That's Sun and Blake in a nutshell! Also, things'll get much more unique the further we go on. Trust me on that. I have _so_ , _so_ much planned for this story.

 **U:** Oi, don't yell at me for being on hiatus for good reason. You know what? Just because you're a guest and I can't explain everything to you over PM, I'm going to say this nice and polite right here: Screw off mate.

Done. Well, this took an extra half hour longer than it was meant to. Whoops. Goodnight my friends!

-DragonManMax


	12. Chapter 10

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note:** Man, it feels absolutely fantastic returning to this story. It's been far too long, and I've missed it far too much! Despite the crazily widespread success of my other stories, this one will always be my baby. It's what made me want to write in the first place.

Now, I'm not going to bother explaining why there's been no updates for so long. If you want to know, then go read other stories author's notes, you'll find them on the latest chapters for them. But please, I would just like to say thank you for being patient despite all the waiting times!

Also, I've timed it oddly well! Who would've thought that I timed it so perfectly that it comes out on the first day of RWBY Volume 5 eh? I certainly didn't. Sadly, I don't have First so I can't watch it until the twenty first of October… Got to wait :(

Now, time for a chapter I've been waiting to write for so very long, and have kept in the planning stage for almost a year now. Enter, Chapter X. (Smut comes out tomorrow for you dirty, dirty sausages that want it.)

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter X**

* * *

The wind whistled across the rooftop of the dorms while Jaune stood on the edge. Arms upwards, he turned around, careful not to misstep and fall off the side like Sherlock. As it billowed through his clothes.

After waking up Blake and giving her five minutes to get ready while he collected his thoughts, and prepared his presentation, Jaune's put on his clothes for the day. Black trenchcoat which went down to his mid thigh, as well as some black slacks and a black long sleeve sweater. With his black extra set of combat boots on, he made mental note to grab his armor and find a way to put it on, while having the trench coat on.

It made him look good.

Turning back to the sunrise, Jaune looked at his scroll's time feature. She'd be here in what… Twenty seconds if they were to stay on schedule? Clenching his jaw before sighing, his hand reached up to his face. The smooth metal glided over his forehead, making him shudder at the cold feeling, before his hands dropped and he looked back.

The birds were chirping, the cat was awake, the monkey was paying his debts, the terrorists were on the move, and the genius was planning. It was going to be a long day… The talk he was about to have would be awkward, not particularly well received, and would be with a woman, throwing more unknown factors into the mix.

From here on out, Jaune was on a mine field. He could only hope that he navigated onto some safe, logical ground so that she could finally see what had to be done, and understand the greater good… While at the same time remaining unknowing of what his true intentions were.

Mind you, they're nothing bad. He simply needs her to be aware of the fact that she needs closure for closure to be achieved. At least, for this instance.

Hearing the door swing shut behind him, echoing onto the empty roof, Jaune took his eyes from the lovely scenery of the autumn leaves and sunrise to instead turn towards his partner. ' _Well… Here we go.'_

"What's this about Jaune?" Blake said, stepping out into the cold and rubbing her arms. "You said we needed to talk. How important is it that you had to wake me up this early in the morning?"

Sighing, Jaune turned and gestured off the building. Beyond his hand, beyond the walls of Beacon, was the city of Vale, likely shrouded by the morning fog. "It involves the city, or I suppose the kingdom in total."

Hopping off the ledge of the roof while she watched, he walked a few steps closer before crossing his arms, the metal hands wrapping around arms opposite to themselves. "Though, most importantly, it involves _you_."

She raised one of her elegant eyebrows at that, and he could tell she barely believed him. "How could something related to the kingdom relate to me? I've done some… Not quite legal things, but nothing which would cause the entire kingdom to go into an uproar."

He shook his head. "That's not what I mean, though I could be more clear. This doesn't quite involve _you_ , it involves your _past_. The White Fang is on the move, and should they succeed… The kingdom itself could fall."

Blake was about to speak, and he noticed her clenching fist, and the bow twitching in hidden annoyance before he cut her off. "Trust me Blake, what I say is the truth. They may say they fight for Faunus rights, and truly some of them do, but if they've truly gotten a leader who is as competent as I might imagine, then things could go downhill very quickly."

Turning back to the city, Jaune tossed something over his shoulder. Hearing her scramble to catch the little metal device, he turned on his own watching as the visual goggle of the helmet deployed over one of his eyes, allowing for an augmented reality to come over his own vision.

"Put it in your ear, and then press the button. Left ear, preferably the human one." Hearing her sigh and comply before taking a few steps beside him, Jaune gestured to the map which was in front of them, cast onto the building opposite.

"This map, as I'm sure you know, is a map of Remnant. Now, while I can't simulate exactly what will happen, I can manage to show generally what will happen should Vale fall at the hands of the White Fang." Throwing his hand across it, he watched as the entire thing morphed. The symbols for the four kingdoms, as well as one for Menagerie showed up and flickered slightly before stabilizing.

There was a little animation like a explosion over Vale's symbol before it collapsed into the dust and the green territory went dark and black. "As you can see, Vale is defeated, all remaining people flee to Patch to avoid the near endless Grimm hordes caused by the negativity."

Blake nodded somberly. Good. She understands the full grasp of the situation. "I see…"

"Good." Throwing his hand over it again, Jaune crossed his arms while it all played. Slowly, the blackness which enveloped the green territory began expanding outwards, into Vacuo before Vacuo too, fell to the grimm. But no, it didn't stop there.

Moving upwards to the north from the northernmost point of Vacuo, and onto the continent abandoned by human settlers years ago, bar for the most brave, the grimm devoured that continent too before the very sea itself was teeming with grimm.

From there, it was only a short animation before Atlas fell, as did Mistral. The only thing left standing was Menagerie, kept safe by land by its island status. At least, until the darkness too crept over there, and the Nevermore nested in the northern deserts, the Leviathans hatching more spawn on the coast.

The entire world collapsing, all at the hand of one organization. One which he previously believed to be incompetent. Breathing in, and releasing it, Jaune collapsed the visor before reaching out his right hand to take Blake's.

Seeing her standing there, staring into the empty space in front of her, Jaune couldn't help but to feel terrible. Here he was, filling her in, showing her what they were capable of, and she couldn't accept it. Or rather, she couldn't believe that there was hope.

He felt like a terrible human being right then and there.

"Now Blake, you see why the White Fang are doing what their doing. The next act of terror will be so catastrophic, the entire world could end if it goes unchecked, and I don't even think they know that." Wrapping his hand around the other part of his helmet as his normally silent partner remained quieter than normal, Jaune sighed. "Which is why we must stop them. But let me tell you Blake. You can't do it yourself, and you can't do it with my help either."

Blake turned to him, her face twisted into an angry thing, not accepting what he was saying as it went against everything she believed in. "We have to try Jaune! We can't just let the world end! To not try… It's basically handing it to them! W-we can't let this go on, we need to fix everything!"

He reached out putting a hand on her shoulder, and went on to continue before she collapsed against his chest. Quickly wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her closer, Jaune felt bad as she pushed her face into his shoulder.

"I-I…" He noticed her trembling, and turned on the heaters in his arms, just enough to warm her as he rubbed up and down her back. Sadly, it wasn't helping. "T-the last time I saw my parents it was a fight, and I never said sorry. I-I've done terrible things, a-and I haven't paid for anything."

"Jaune… I-I need you to help me do this… We can't leave it alone, and I can't do it alone. So _please_ , j-just please Jaune. Help! Find some way! We need to do it!" Blake said before pushing herself away again, and he missed her warmth. Reaching one hand upwards to wipe away the tears even as it trembled, Blake continued. "I can't simply let the world end. You know me, you know what I do."

Jaune nodded. "I know you Blake… Which is why I brought you here this morning. I wanted to drive in what was _possible_ , not because I wanted to make you feel guilty, but because I wanted you to understand everything, and why we've got to do what we're going to do."

Blake looked up at him, eyes filled with any sort of determination she could muster, even as the world seemed grim. Looking over the rest of the academy, with its sleeping kids, students, young adults, and the entire world, with it's broken hopes and unfulfilled dreams, Jaune turned to look back at her. "What are we doing then Jaune? I assume you have some way, _any_ way to stop them? How are they doing this in the first place? Where did you get this information from? Why are you so sure it's going to happen?"

Tears now dried, and head in the right place, Blake was ready. While the girl who ran away from her problems wasn't necessarily gone, they weren't here right now. While she could simply leave it to him, and know her vendetta would be taken care of anyways, there she was. Willing to do what it took, to do whatever she could for the greater good.

Before she'd been uncertain, confused and overwhelmed. But she'd reigned it in, and became back in control, calm, cool, stoic. Just like usual. Just as he liked her. Of course, like in _totally_ normal liking as a _person_ way.

Yup… No romantic feelings there whatso- Okay well, maybe he shouldn't lie…

"I am speculating based off of facts which, when put together, paint this picture. I'm also basing this off of a few odd coincidences in the city, and with some boats. I got the information I _needed_ to put this all together from that guy I tripped when we went into town." He said before coughing awkwardly and wishing she'd hug him again. Man, despite the fact that he now was going to take on terrorists who could cripple at least one kingdom, Jaune _still_ managed to think about how soft and warm she was.

"I won't quite say how, but don't worry. I've got it figured out. I'll tell everybody when I get them together. A few of the finer details need to be gone over, and organized, but I think that as long as things go to plan… I think we'll be fine." He said sighing. Since when had they become so competent?

"Okay…" Blake said before reaching a hand up onto her chin and rubbing it. Bending over, she ran her hands through her hair before straightening back up with a sigh. "T-this is just so much to take in at once. I mean, I wasn't expecting this when you woke me up this morning Jaune."

At that he raised his eyebrow. How could she have been expecting something in the first place? Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it won't kill him. So, letting his curiosity best him, Jaune bothered asking. "And just what _were_ you expecting Blake?"

He saw her shuffle awkwardly even as he posed the question. Looking back up at him with a pink dusting across her face, he realized she must've been cold. Well, it makes sense considering how her outfit was rather loose and cold. Watching her avoid his gaze and look down before mumbling something, he noticed her playing with her fingers a bit.

Shaking his head, and deciding it wasn't worth pursuing right now, Jaune looked at her. "Anyways. Step one is to wake up the team. Step two, is to fill them in, get them to understand the scope and how we can beat it. Then, I send a few messages and we get some more people to help out. I'd bring this to the authorities, but we're better suited if we assume they have dangerous and powerful people like Torchwick there."

She nodded. "Sounds good. What's our excuse for me being so interested?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We're saving the world like some kick ass kids from an anime would. We don't need an excuse to do that."

Blake shook her head, before her hands reached up and grabbed onto the ends of her bow. "I know that." Pulling it off and unleashing her furry and cute ears of destruction upon the world, she clenched the bow in her hand even as it sat there, unraveled.

"We can't simply tell them I'm so interested in the White Fang because of that. Already, my outburst has had them looking at me differently, a-and I don't like it Jaune." Looking up at him, Blake's eyes were serious. In a good way. "They're my friends Jaune. While I didn't have many before, I do now… And I don't want to lose them."

He could've sworn she said something else there after that, but it was lost in the wind.

"So what are we going to use to excuse my interest and defence of the White Fang? Maybe some kind of cover story about how my parents were sympathisers after being defen-"

He tuned the rest out as dawning came upon him and Jaune just laughed. It felt bad to laugh at the thing he was asking her to do, but it was for the greater good. "Blake, we're going to tell them everything."

Walking up to her, Jaune reached out his hands and put them on her nice round shoulders as she looked up at him. Ha, even with her heels he still stood taller than her by a few inches. "We're going to tell them about your heritage, and your background, and we're going to let them know why you did what you did. Trust me, Yang and Ruby are good people, you know this by now. Do they seem like they would care if you're a faunus or not?"

Blake sighed and shook her head, avoiding eye contact. "You bring up annoyingly good points."

Jaune grinned. "Yup."

"Trust me, we won't leave you. Even if they do, I won't okay? Besides, the most they'd care is because you're hiding those cute things atop your head from the entire world." He smiled down at her, before pulling her into a hug. Ignoring how she squirmed in his arms and began wording some sort of annoyance or complaint, Jaune also tried to ignore the furry and soft cat ear twitching against his cheek. "Besides, just imagine how Ruby would react when she saw them."

Sighing, Blake eventually stopped squirming, hugging back despite making it semi awkward. They stood there for a few seconds before he ended it, leaving her red faced. Huh, must be from the rapid amount of heat he just generated for her using his arms.

What other reason would her face be red after hugging him?

"I'll do it… But I won't necessarily like it! I hope you know that!" She said pointing a finger into his chest. "Besides, it's not that I don't trust them, I do, I really do, I'm just wondering one more thing… Who else were you planning on letting in on this plan to 'save the world' as you called it?"

She stopped for a second before briefly smiling. Good, he was worried things were a bit too tense there. Laughing, Jaune wrapped an arm around her shoulder and directed them both in the direction of the door and threw up his hand as though making a sales pitch.

"So, here's what I was thinking."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"They're so _cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute_!" Her squeal went near supersonic and Jaune reached a hand up to check if his ears were bleeding or not. Once his hand came away blood free, he briefly wondered about Blake's own, more sensitive pair of ears before shaking his head and smiling.

Her aura would take care of it anyways.

There was a rush of wind and rose petals around the room as Ruby zipped across from one of the couches and onto the loveseat Blake and Jaune had been sharing while they made the presentation.

Standing up so as to give Ruby a spot to sit and battle a squirming Blake to pet them, Jaune made his way over to the other couch to sit by Yang. Ignoring the death glare from Blake which basically screamed 'how could you leave me!?', Jaune just sat down and relaxed into the couch while watching Ruby be completely overwhelmed by the cuteness that is Blake.

Relaxing back for a second and putting his feet up on the table in a way which would've annoyed his mother to no end, Jaune sighed. Things were going well so far. Nobody's freaked out, no unnecessary hysteria not organized by him happened, people are okay with the idea of saving the kingdom…

Jaune was broken out of his planning for the advanced stages of everything by Yang a moment after he started.

"So you're telling me that Blake's terrorist pals back in the White Fang are going to end the world in, what, the next two days?" Yang said flipping her hair over while he reclined back into the couch and laughed at Ruby's attempts to pet Blake. "No offence, but it sounds like something out of some cheesy dystopian society novel or something."

Jaune laughed. "None taken Yang. It does sound kind of out there, but it's possible. But really, I'm probably playing it up a bit. It's good to see we're finally back into an area where this isn't quite so serious."

He pointed over in Blake's direction. "I was kind of worried that I made things too serious to sound doable when I was talking to Blake, but it seems like it's all turned out fine."

Yang crossed her arms, before bringing one leg onto the couch and putting it under her shapely butt. (Not that he noticed it's shapeliness before, it's simply that when confronted with something so regularly and with such shapeliness, it's hard not to notice what's directly in front of you.)

"Speaking of which, what's their plan to do all of this anyways? I mean, it must be something pretty impressive it it can 'cause the downfall of all intelligent life' like you said." Yang said putting one hand out before taking it back. "Alright Ruby, that's enough of petting Blake."

"Aww! I'm pretty sure I'm like _thiiiis_ close to getting her though!" Ruby pouted before sitting down on the loveseat beside Blake properly. Looking over at Blake, she pointed in her general direction. "For someone who hasn't moved from that seat in a while, and didn't move from that seat while being attacked, your defense is impeccable!"

Jaune clapped his hands together, the metal not making much of a noise. "Ah! Remind me to tell Blake about the new protection she needs to use later!"

Yang snorted and smacked his arm. "Ha, gotta make sure she's using her protection eh Jaune?"

Jaune nodded without noticing Blake's red face as even Ruby understood the joke. "That's correct! I had plenty of fun designing it! Without it, one can expect all sorts of things being shot inside of her."

"Pfft, tell me about it." Yang said while Blake furiously made a line with her hand over her neck. Jaune, still oblivious to this kept going. Yang just shot the cat faunus a thumbs up and a grin.

"Yeah, anything shot inside of Blake could cause some real problems later…" He said running his hands through his air while Yang's grin went predatory once more.

"Man, are you saying that anything inside of Blake could cause some real problems for her huntress career?" Yang asked almost like a reporter might if they were to chase a story. In her head, she was having an absolute ball… What a meanie, preying on his social ineptness.

"But of course! The bleeding! Anything entering would make her bleed so much it's ridiculous… Really, Blake should just wear more armor in the first place. At least a couple of things so they can't penetrate." Jaune said before shaking his head. "Anyways, back to the 'how' of the White Fang's plans."

Standing up, he walked over to the center of the living room area of the dorm. Standing behind the table, and in an area he wouldn't be in the way of the screen, Jaune turned on the T.V. with his semblance before bringing up a small animation.

"Didn't have much time, but when I can literally just think things into creation on a computer screen it went pretty quick, if not great." Jaune said before playing. They could see the docks, surrounded by eight by eight by twenty shipping containers all bearing a generic Schnee Dust Company logo on it.

"As you can see, we're at the docks, the 'where'. It'll be taking place at the docks because right now, there's a huge Schnee freighter coming into port and unloading onto the docks. This should go on until the end of tonight." He pressed play and there was a small aerial view of the yard slowly filling with more containers, until a few animated black shadows appeared in some areas.

"While unloading, the containers will be guarded. However, once they deem the docks secure, they'll get back on the boat, and leave. At least, that's what I would have them do if I was in charge." Jaune said before pointing at the screen. "The next day, so not today but tomorrow, there'll be nobody on guard except the employed guards of the docks. Easily bribable, and it's a big dock, so a very large area to patrol."

He turned back to everyone to see them nodding. Going back to it, they continued along with the animation as it went through the little things and eventually showed tomorrow night. "Now here with it being unguarded, except by perhaps a few hidden droids in the containers, they're vulnerable for pickup and shipment."

Yang raised her hand and Jaune turned around. "Uhh, Mr Teacher, what could the White Fang do with a whole bunch of containers of dust anyways? They'd need something to activate it wouldn't they?"

Pointing at her, Jaune looked at the two other occupants in the room. "Yang, you're normally a fiery girl but you're on fire today. Yes! They _would_ need something to activate the dust… Though, _this_ dust, is both raw, _and_ purified as well as in crystal form. If one of the crystals were to break, come into contact with the purified, and then come into contact with the raw dust, there'd be a huge explosion which would use up nearly all of the fuel in the container."

Pointing at the screen, he skipped ahead to an explosion he had set up for later. "Now, you may be wondering: 'Oh master Jaune, you're so smart, please, enlighten us with what they'll do next so we can go kick ass!' Well, okay!"

Playing the animation, Jaune continued with his overview and explanation. "While they can't do much with the dust on its own, and if they were to open the containers they'd be attacked by all the bots since they're all connected, they don't actually have to open them."

The T.V briefly showed a bullhead flying low right overtop of a container, before there was a wavy thing in the air representing some sort of 'tractor beam' like thing, before the container and the Bullhead were connected and flying away from the docks.

"Using the docking mechanism on the Bullhead, they can use that same magnet to lift and pickup cargo. Now tell me, with three Bullheads, and three containers filled with dust which is highly volatile, deadly and would cause a massive amount of packet, what could the White Fang do to Vale?" Jaune asked before looking around. They all looked serious now. Good. They should never once think that things would be simple. "They'll pick up containers, fly high up over the city, then drop them. Upon impact, the containers should explode. If done from high enough, it should give them enough time to get away from the explosion and go get more. If all of this happened in sync multiple times, that's it. Hell, even once and we've got enough panic for the government to call in the army, and probably declare martial law in an effort to flush out and arrest all the terrorists."

Jaune turned off the T.V. saving his animation to his file bank in case anything went wrong. That, and it would give him a chance for bragging rights to say he called it later when out in the bar. (Assuming of course that one day he'd drink, which it currently didn't look like he'd end up doing.)

"So as you can see, if we fail it all goes to shit." Jaune said before clasping his hands behind his back and hopping onto the table. "Now, our job is simple. The twelve of us must intercept the Bullheads before, and during the pickup. Really, we can't let them get those things in the air, because then comes the highly difficult process of directing the Bullheads over the ocean for drop off, or to place them back down."

"But couldn't you just use your semblance to control the Bullheads and cause them all to fail?" Yang said voicing her point. Wow, she really _was_ on fire today.

Shaking his head, Jaune continued. "Not really no. For a couple of reasons. For one, I need to be around the thing for a certain amount of time before it's actually able to be affected by my semblance. Second, there's a certain range to it. By the time I'd be able to use it, they'd be right on top of us."

Yang nodded, and Ruby's hand shot up. "So what are our roles!? Tell us! We need to save the world! It's going to be awesome! It's going to be epic! I'll be all like-" There was a cacophony of some sort of karate noise which Ruby must've gotten from a film the other day. "- you know?"

Jaune pointed at the screen as it flickered on again. "Everyone will have a certain roll. You will be one of the people who are on top of this crane here, acting as overwatch. Your job will to be to pick off who you can, and ensure the people on the ground don't get overwhelmed."

Ruby slumped, before brightening up again considerably. "Sniping is still my forte too! Though, there'll be some long shots! That crane's pretty high up."

Jaune nodded. "Yes, that's why all of you will be getting your Christmas presents early. I've been working on them for a while, but in the end of the day they're just prototypes which all of you will get eventually. For example, eventually all of you will get a set of the cool armor I designed for Blake. Now that I have the mechanics and basis of it down, I just need to change the various sizes. Not to mention, I might add a bit to Yang's since she relies on taking hits to fight."

Jaune looked at the all before hopping off the table and turning off the T.V. Seeing them there, all paying attention and serious, he briefly wondered why he wasn't made team leader instead of Ruby before banishing the thought.

He knew the answer to that already, even if she didn't.

Clapping his metal hands together once more, he was pre-planned his outfit in his mind before nodding and tilting his head.

"Now… Any more questions?"

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Stepping out of the room and leaving them to get ready and dressed for the rest of the surveillance they'd be doing this weekend, Jaune reached into his trenchcoat pocket and fished out his scroll.

Deciding that he'd have to change later himself into something more stealthy than a suspicious trenchcoat, Jaune held the scroll out in front of him even as he walked through the halls. This call would be the first he would make, the second, would be a direct _house_ call. His mother always taught him to be courteous after all.

Seconds later, the device in his bionic fingers stopped ringing and the face of one Cardin Winchester appeared, sweaty and red. "Hey, Jaune. Listen, right now isn't a really great time I mean, I'm kinda busy d-"

"Training? Good on you Cardin! Really keeping in shape eh? Anyways, remember Mozambique?" Jaune said cringing with the last word. That was a pot full of memories that nobody wanted to disturb, but it was necessary this time.

Cardin nodded, all traces of an excuse gone, and Jaune noticed his adam's apple bob as he gulped. Licking his lips and sitting back up from where he'd been apparently doing a stretch of some kind, Cardin continued. "I-I remember Mozambique man. What about it? Don't tell me the alpa-"

"Don't worry Cardin, we took care of those remember?" Jaune said purging the conversation from his mind even as they continued. Anything related to Mozambique must be destroyed. "It's a code Mozambique situation right now. That's what we've got on our hands."

A code Mozambique. In their circle of bros, this was the highest possible code, symbolising that everything was about to get so crazy and so shit that everything must be done to prevent it. Based off of the Mozambique incident, this code was now apart of the unwritten rules of being a man, and would soon be written in Jaune's side publication.

Cardin sighed, one hand going up to his face before he raked it through his reddish-orange hair. Looking back upwards, his eyes hardened and prepared, Cardin set his jaw. "Send us the time, place, and a list of supplies. The infamous five must never allow a repeat of Mozambique. Not in our lifetime, and not in the lifetime of our ancestors."

Jaune nodded. That would be correct. Another Mozambique would be terrifying, but this was far worse. Jaune and the other various old noble families of Vale must keep together, work like a single organism, ready and strong.

"Alright. I'll see you man. I'll fill you all in when you arrive at the location. Sending the list now." Hanging up and tucking the scroll back into his pocket, Jaune sighed. Mozambique was one pot of worms they should never let out.

Done walking down the hallway, Jaune turned around. He was simply walking to kill time, and to do something, anything while waiting for Team CRDL's response to his code beckoning. It's not like they could refuse, but he was still nervous about it.

Walking back down the hallway to his own dorm room, Jaune briefly considered getting Sun's team in on this too. At that, they'd have sixteen strong hunters in training, each one able to probably be rationed out into their own group, or ready to act as support for the objective. In the end, he decided against it. While it's not unlikely that they'd be sending some strong people, twelve should be good enough, along with a bit of elbow grease and advanced problem solving.

Heading to the very end of the hall, where both the door to his own dorm, as well as the door to Team Lavender. Knocking on it, Jaune didn't feel it as his metal fingers clapped against the wood of the door.

Hearing a 'coming' and a large crash before there was some sort of cackle, a squirt of some sort of odd liquid sounding thing, and a manly scream, Jaune silently wondered what they did in their room to cause these sorts of reactions to happen.

Hearing a shush, and a whirlwind of noise before there was an almost 'squeaky clean' sound from a commercial, Jaune was about to turn away so he could try again later before the door opened in front of his face.

"Why hello Jaune, how may I help you this fine afternoon?" Came Weiss' perfect pronunciation even as she batted her eyelashes prettily at him. Huh, he thought they would've been far more awkward than th-

"Holy crap what happened to your room!?" Jaune said the words coming out before he could stop them. Try he did, but they flowed out of their own volition and power, quicker than lightning. "I mean, holy crap! I've seen people with messy rooms before, but this is nuts!"

God! This blew anything his sister's ever done out of the water! He simply couldn't believe it! They had at least three people who enjoyed, honest to god _enjoyed_ cleaning in their room, how could it possibly be so messy in the-

Nora.

Now that that was cleaned up, Jaune shook his head quickly returning to the realm of calm he'd grown so accustomed to in his life. Looking past her into the room, he saw Nora guiltily sitting there on a chair in the middle of the room, while Ren was there wearing some sort of apron, and Pyrrha sat on a bunk.

Bunkbeds… He assumed those could also be attributed to Nora. Huh, maybe that's a good idea. Saves space, allows for more efficiency, privacy. A bit dangerous, but he could maybe make it work.

"Okay, nevermind. Can I just talk to you guys as a team for a second? I have a request. Trust me, you'll want to hear what I have to say." Jaune put in before Weiss could regain her control and begin saying anything about Nora, and about how it was a mess in there.

Nodding at him, Weiss stepped aside to let him in, before he strode confidently through the partially wiped up maple syrup. Maybe he'd hire them a couple dozen cleaners for helping him out of this.

Hearing the door shut behind him, Jaune waved at Ren and got a calm nod back before Pyrrha raised one of her fine eyebrows at him. "Jaune? What are you doing here?"

At that, he opened his arms and captivated their attention. "Hey, I'd prefer if you all sat facing me for this, it's really important."

Understanding rule number eight on the list of unwritten rules of being a man, Ren nodded, going and sitting down on the bed beneath Pyrrha's. Nora joined him a few seconds later, and Soon Weiss even joined them.

Taking the chair Nora had been sitting on, Jaune sat down on that and faced them.

"Well… I'm here to ask you all a favor, in return for some money, or a favor in return." Jaune said before stopping them when they were about to voice their concerns. "You can decline, but if one of you feels as though all of you are not ready, then none of you can go. I'm sorry."

Weiss nodded, as well as Ren. Nora bounced on the mattress happily. "Tell us what it is pretty boy!"

Laughing just a bit, Jaune scratched the back of his head as sheepishly as he could while at the same time trying to remain serious. Looking upwards towards Pyrrha, Jaune noticed her green eyes fixed intently on him, beckoning for him to continue.

"Well… I recently figured out that there will be a terrorist attack on Vale, the entire city, in the next two days. I would like you, to all join me in stopping them." Jaune said. Nora instantly threw her hands up in the air with a whoop, while Ren nodded before raising a finger.

"I have a few questions, if you do not mind." He said. The green monk continued as soon as he got the nod from Jaune. "Just answer in order when I'm done. What group is it? How will it be conducted? Why ask us instead of using the authorities? Where will it be? What are the potential dangers?"

Jaune nodded. Valid questions, all of them. Ren himself was intelligent, and it makes sense that he'd want to see the full picture before joining.

"The White Fang are going to be responsible…. It'll be conducted using some Bullheads, and a few large containers of dust dropping over the city from a high altitude which will then set them off. I'm asking all of _you_ , because I believe that you're people I can rely on, and one of you…" Jaune's eyes focused on Weiss' pretty light blue ones as he said that. "... has something to do with the Schnee dust company, and a personal vendetta against the White Fang."

Ren nodded, before moving his hand to his chin in thought. He must've noticed that Jaune hadn't answered the last couple questions, his silence answering them alone. That and he'd mentioned containers, and that it would be a big operation, meaning danger was ahead.

Nora piped up almost immediately. "Well _I_ think we should do it! We'll be doing what we signed up to do when we decided to be Hunters! We've got to purge the evil, and keep it from destroying the kingdoms!"

Jaune nodded. "That's very correct Nora. I assume you vote 'yes'?"

"Righteroo Jauney boy! It'll be just like that one dream I had that one time!" Smiling at her even as she bounced against the mattress some more, Jaune temporarily took his gaze from the orangette to move it towards Pyrrha's eyes.

"Pyrrha?"

"Well… I…" She seemed almost hesitant to begin, and he was pretty sure he knew why. "It's not that I don't feel as though we're good enough to take out a couple of grunts, but I'm not sure if I can with my celebrity status. I mean, if I'm seen fighting the-"

Jaune butt in before she finished. "Then people would either praise you, or wonder why you didn't do the proper thing and call the authorities, leading to problems with all sorts of business things right?"

Pyrrha nodded, her beautiful red hair bouncing up and down with her movement. "I'm sorry, but while I don't think I can go, my team I think is ready."

Jaune nodded before raising one more point. "Okay, that's fine… But, if you were to remain as overwatch on a crane over the scene, and pick off a few using your rifle, would that be okay? You could wear all black, you'd be virtually invisible against the black of the sky." He proposed quickly getting her attention. She, Ruby, and Sky would all be acting as overwatch if she agreed, which seems just perfect.

She nodded, a smile coming to her face. "Well, I think that would work out perfectly. I assume Ruby would be helping me while up there?"

Jaune nodded, getting her to sit there, waiting for the rest of her team to go. Two votes down, which means fifty percent in his favour. So far, things were going well. If he gets a third person, the last will likely fall due to peer pressure. "Ren?"

Ren nodded. That would've been enough and anything more would've felt like he was forcing him to talk, but still, Jaune heard Ren speak. "I suppose it would be fine. If it's low level cronies, we should hold our own without fail. Moreso if we're to use guerilla tactics."

Jaune nodded. "If you'd like to help me out in planning some stuff then be in my room in a half hour, my team will be there ready to plan everything out to the letter. They may say that no good plan survives contact with the enemy, and it's true, but we can plan pretty well."

At that, Ren's vote too was secured for his side.

Now the only thing which stood in his way was Weiss, somebody he already knew the vote of, no matter her argument. The only thing was, she might do it just to spite him, based off of the events where he stomped on her argument two days before.

"I think I'll do it. They've picked on my family for far too long. If they truly want a demonstration on why they should stop being a bother, then I will gladly indulge them." Weiss said making everyone else smile and give a few laughs at the ridiculous situation. But then, she pointed at Jaune, speaking louder. "But I _am_ wondering why _your_ team was getting involved in the first place!"

This is where he had to be careful. While Blake was fine with her own team knowing, she might not be fine with all of them knowing. Though, he was already planning for that in the future, and things seemed to be going well so far.

Jaune scratched the back of his head, the smooth tipped metal fingers not doing much but sliding across his scalp. "Well… When I got the information Weiss, I couldn't just stand around. You know? I mean, this is crazy. You don't know the scope yet, and I'll explain it when we're all at the sight, but it's big. So big I can't stand by, and the law enforcement would dismiss it as being too ridiculous to investigate."

"So, I suppose that _really_ , I'm simply doing it because I can." Jaune said sounding stupid. Sure, he was doing it for Blake, but he was also doing it because he was a patriot, and because if he could save them, and stop their homes from being enveloped in flames by forces they couldn't control like his was years ago, then he would. "Because if I don't then who will?"

At that, Weiss nodded. "That sounds acceptable I suppose." She said before running her hand through her hair for a brief moment and straightening out her dress as she stood up.

"Now. Where shall we get started?"

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

The gears whirled, and the entire machine groaned happily as everything ran as it was supposed to. Sighing and wheeling back, away from his desk for a moment, Ozpin turned in his chair to look out of the window and over his academy.

Yes… Despite everything, all the grief, all the heart wrenching adventures, this would forever be his academy. No matter where it had put him, no matter where he'd ended up, or how his friends had ended up, this would always be his responsibility. His place to protect.

Yet alas, he knew one day it would fall. All things turn to dust when faced with the enemy of time. All things, no matter the power within them, or the magic keeping them alive.

Turning when he heard his elevator doors being opened, Ozpin took a quick swig of coffee before placing it on the table and steepling his hands towards Glynda. "Yes Glynda? How may I be of service today?"

He watched as she walked over, heels clacking against the glass floor of the room. Placing a stack of papers on his desk, Glynda's finger went up and she chastised him. "Help by doing your own paperwork for once Ozpin. Just because you've given me permission to use your signature still doesn't mean it's not forgery."

Ozpin sighed and slumped in his chair. "Think about it Glynda, you can sign all of them at once with your semblance. Me on the other hand, would have to go through them one by one and that's a bore."

"A bore I've endured far too long." Glynda said before her eyes came upon the file on the table. The important one that he's been waiting for her to look at. "Is that-"

"Yes. The next one has been selected. We will wait, and observe their growth. As for the package, we still have not found someone compatible. Naturally, we could force the package to adapt, but to do so wouldn't be good for either the wielder, or the item itself…" Ozpin said before grabbing another sip of coffee, this time keeping the cup in his hands.

Glynda swooped in and took the files into her hands, standing to the side holding them tightly. They were important, and he trusted her with his life to get them to the vault. While it was just a short elevator ride away, it's still out of his office.

"Professor Ozpin, I've been hearing _whispers_ lately." Glynda said breaking him out of his thought while he thought in all directions at once.

"Whispers of what Glynda?" Ozpin said his face growing serious. This would not be good news. Things spoken in whispers are often meant to be kept secret for someone, and most of the time, it was someone like him.

People with power.

"Our little birds tell us that there will be an attack, two nights from now on the docks of Vale. They say it will cripple the city should it go unchecked." She said, taking another step forwards before his hand went up and she stopped. "We need to send someone. If not to prevent, then to check out what's going on. They recommend at least two fully trained hunters."

At that Ozpin hummed. Ah, so it appears as though his microphones had not been deceiving him after all. Running his hands over his desk and activating it's holographic screen and keyboard, he navigated to today's logs, in the two dorm rooms of importance.

' _They will already be heading there. While it'll be a storm if news of them being there with it still succeeding, there'll be nearly no storm if nothing happens and I can safely thrust this under the rug to never be heard from again.'_

Nodding, Ozpin looked over to his computer screen once more. Accessing his emails which would be hidden from the other side so Glynda could not look at his things (namely history) he eventually came to one from one General Ironwood from Atlas.

"Glynda. Contact Ironwood with a phone call. Tell him to send P3NNY to the docks two nights from now with a small platoon of knights. They won't be needed if all goes well, but will act as backup should everything go wrong." He said as he relaxed into his chair.

From what he's observed of Jaune and his friends before, he knows that the case was in hands safe enough to be trusted with it. While the increasing of competency in the White Fang startled him, like it did to Jaune, he really should've expected it.

After all, _he_ was here now.

"But sir, who will take care of the even-"

At that, Ozpin smiled and looked up at Glynda. Truly one of his most faithful friends in life. He had no doubt that she would be there until the end, or until he ordered her gone. Remarkable.

"Do not worry about a thing Glynda… It's in safe hands… Metal as they may be…"

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Here we go ladies and gentlemen! Finally done eh! I'm so sorry for the long delay, but life has simply been nutso. Like today, I shouldn't have gotten this out, but we're buying the car instead. Anyways, if you want to know more, look at my other stories.

Anyways, I got far more out than I was expecting today, which is nice. Also, I'm _not_ exhausted and actually feeling pretty damn good now that I've finished this! Now please, have a happy late Thanksgiving (in Canada), a safe late Friday the thirteenth, and leave a review letting me know your thoughts on what's going on!

Now, I'm going to answer some reviews, and get caught up on some fanfiction reading!

 **Review Responses:**

 **rwby1989:** Woo! I do have plans, but not for right now. But yeah, Sun's getting grilled to pay that back. Adam sooner? Hehe, we'll have to see my friend we'll have to see…

 **Raidentensho:** Haha, it's a nice thought but they're not going for _super_ rich food every weekend! Also, yes I can imagine Taiyang bursting into tears when he meets the 'nice boy' Yang's brought home :)

 **BarkingFox:** Everyone will get armor eventually.

 **NinjaFang1331:** Thanks.

 **X3runner:** But, if there's spotlights then they could just shoot at her pretty face more easily! I'll have Nora and Blake hang out eventually soon yes, but let me tell you: Nora's hard to write.

 **1st Dragon King:** Yeah! Yang best blonde! Except for maybe Barbara… Well, same person.

 **Flametusk:** Yeah, it's full sized. I normally wake up at six, so I understand you man!

 **desdelor97:** Here till the end man!

 **Frank Horrigan:** I didn't know it was possible to commit genocide on and _organization_.

 **alrickit:** Why thank you! This is what I wanted when I wrote the first one, and now that it's surpassed the first one truly in reviews, follows, and favorites, I've taken down the old one.

Now, on this note, I bid you adieu. Big thanks to the band 'Paramore' for providing me with music to listen to while writing this. Now please, have a leave a review, and have a wonderful day!

-DragonManMax


	13. Chapter 11

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **Perfection in itself is unattainable, due to the very nature of perfection."**

 **Note:** Well, due to a surprise visit I had not been aware about until an hour and a half before from my great step uncle twice removed (I'm being completely serious.) I was rendered unable to write for half of today. Not to mention, that on Sunday the plans we had got shit on, and that meant we came up with new plans on the fly, which then went not according to plan, so I wasn't able to write.

So here I am, Monday. Which is fine on the new schedule! Woo! I really think the new schedule (will be detailed below) will end up working much better than the previous one!

Anyways, here we go I suppose. I normally pick up steam when under pressure, running late, and near my goal and end up going far longer than I should, so doing it over two days means that either I will have two bursts of inspiration, or none at all.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter XI**

* * *

With a grunt of effort Jaune pulled Yang up the rest of the way. Standing on the small platform at the top of the ladder, and outside of the cabin, him and the rest of Team Aubergine were there, shivering in the night air.

They'd made a quick trip before the day was over towards the crane in which Ruby, Pyrrha, and Sky would all be maintaining overwatch from. It was high. High enough to the point it could go over most of the larger boats coming into port, and just close enough so that when given to people with the technical skill of Ruby, a hit is still possible from the longest range possible.

This was of course, to both keep the people up here out of harm, out of the public eye, and out of the notice of the enemy. The docks had long since closed, and the Schnee freighter from earlier was already on its way out, leaving close to nobody behind to guard the cargo.

If the White Fang _really_ wanted to surprise him, they'd be there now, when there was just enough people to act as witnesses, to spread the word. Ensure that panic set in before the deed was done.

Shaking his head, Jaune helped Yang make her way across the platform before they eventually walked, carefully and slowly, along one of the long metal beams holding this thing together. Eventually getting to the other side where Blake and Ruby already were, the two looked down into the docks, not seeing much without the same scope or enhanced eyesight Ruby and Blake had respectively.

"So, here is where you'll be watching from. Make sure that nobody gets out. If you _want_ , you can use lightning rounds so you can just shoot them in the leg or something and capacitate them anything. We'll pick some up at Beacon." Jaune said gesturing to Ruby. At that she nodded. They say nobody knows whether they could truly kill someone or not until put in that situation. Jaune, despite knowing that Ruby was highly skilled, and intelligent, he knew that she wouldn't want to kill somebody if she didn't have to.

That's simply the way she is.

"Alright. So, do you guys see the large arrangements of shipping containers on the west side of the docks?" Jaune asked. Pointing one of his mechanical fingers that way, he eventually got all of them to gaze towards the large metal jungle of crates. Tunnels, alleys, empty hiding spots. Perfect. "That's where Blake, Ren and Russel are going to be. All of you will use the cover, incapacitate the enemy, leave them tied up in one of the empty containers for law enforcement later."

That got a nod from Blake, even as Yang jumped a couple of times, making the entire beam shudder when she landed. "What about me! I can do stuff! I mean, you _know_ how awesome I am, so what am I on?"

At that Jaune leaned back against the other support beams, trusting them to hold his weight before gesturing to the large open area in the center. "Yang, you'll be with Cardin, Dove, Nora and I. We'll be acting as the main forces on the ground, tanking enemy fire, and firing back. Our main purpose is to move around, stop them from getting the crates into the air. It'll be tough, but between the five of us, it should be possible."

"Any more questions?" Jaune asked with his eyebrow raised. Looking around at his teammates, he eventually caught Ruby's hand in the air. "Yes Ruby?"

"How many crates can we allow to escape before grand scale pandemonium?" She said oddly cutely despite the fact that they were talking about a terrorist attack with a potentially high casualty rating. "I mean, surely one wouldn't do that much right?"

At that Jaune nodded, though at the same time pursed his lips. "Well, yes _and_ no. One crate wouldn't do much, two is probably handleable. But if _three_ go off, then we've got a problem. So while it's extremely preferable to not to let _any_ out, we can in _theory_ let out one or two."

Nodding, Ruby leaned herself back into the other beams there. Overlooking the water generally to his right, Jaune couldn't help but think that it was a shame that there was a dock here. It would do remarkably well as land for condominiums. Of course, that would depend on the amount of clay in the ground an-

"So, do we have any contingency plans in the event of this 'third' container?" Blake asked putting quotations around the word third. Fair enough question, if not one he was dreading bringing up.

The contingency plans… Well, they weren't exactly pretty.

At that Jaune sighed, digging into the pocket of his coat before bringing out a small remote control. Aiming it in the general direction of the docks, Jaune clicked it a few times just to show that nothing was happening, and to get all of their attention. "Tell me, what do all of you know about C4?"

Ruby's hand instantly shot up and he pointed at her, tossing her the remote. Briefly about to lunge forwards and catch her as she lost her balance and careened off the thing, he had to worry not as Blake pulled Ruby back by her hood. Coughing in embarrassment before holding the remote in her hands, Ruby adopted a scholarly voice and pushed up her imaginary glasses. "A C4 is a type of explosive available for both civilian, and military use. It's highly malleable, can stick to pretty much everything, and is resistant to anything which might cause it to explode, except for a detonator."

Nodding at her explanations and wondering if that's how smart he sounded all the time, Jaune continued for her. "That's correct. Now… Okay, this isn't very pleasant so I would like all of you to take this _extremely_ seriously."

He noticed them straightening up, as they stopped leaning against the beams, and instead began paying complete attention. "Now, in the event that they have the third container, and we're unable to stop them… We're going to blow some C4 which I'm going to plant before hand."

Already, he could see them not liking where this was going. "If put in the right place, the right amount of C4 will go through the crate, and blow up the insides, which will then detonate every other crate on the docks. This explosion would be so large and so powerful that it would completely destroy everything nearby." Jaune said before Yang's hand went up. "Yes Yang?"

"Well, aren't we trying to _stop_ the huge explosions? I mean, that _is_ what we're trying to do right?" The normally confident brawler looking unsure and confused. At that Jaune nodded, before gesturing to the docks.

"That is correct Yang. However, if they get three or more crates out, then the entire kingdom falls. If they get two out, and we're able to stop the third, we must at any cost. It's better to vaporize everything in the docks, with low casualties, than allow an entire kingdom to fall, totally unprepared." Jaune said before his face took a turn to the grim side of the spectrum. "That… That would be genocide."

At that Yang nodded, returning backwards. She understood what he meant, and could see between the lines. Vaporize _everything_ in the docks. Not the dust, not the Bullheads, _everything_. Them included.

There would be casualties, but in the end of the day the greater good theory once again rears its ugly head, ready to challenge even the most prepared plans, and the greatest people. That's what happens in wars, all of them.

"Now, let's get back to the dorm, and grab some sleep." Jaune said before they walked generally in the direction of the ladder, slowly and carefully across the beams. "We're going to have a very long weekend ahead of us."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Blake stirred from her slumber quickly, suppressing a groan so as to not wake up her teammates before blinking a few times. Looking up at the painted white, popcorn ceiling before sighing and sitting up in bed. Just the motion in and of itself is enough to wake up nearly anybody, why she didn't know but it was a proven method of waking up.

Sighing, Blake left the warmth and comfort of her oh-so-glorious bed before padding silently to the side of it. Crouching down to the drawers built into the bed, Blake quietly grabbed out some clothes different from what she normally wore.

Sort of.

Moving around in her yukata-clad state, Blake took a look at the time on the scroll near her bed before nodding. Seven in the morning. She knew by now that Jaune woke up at six every day, so he was probably out holding their table for breakfast.

Sighing again, Blake went forth to the bathroom. Shutting the door softly behind her, she glared at the cold tiles beneath her feet before hopping onto the small carpet they had put there. Laying out the clothing for the day near the sink, Blake grabbed out her shampoo and body wash before considering whether or not she should waste time on conditioner.

She wasn't Yang, so really she shouldn't be worried too much about one wasted day worth of conditioning, but in the end decided to go for it. After all, it never hurts to be prepared. That and she enjoyed the smile of it quite a lot.

Blake smiled, she had a feeling that Jaune enjoyed the smell too.

That smile faded moments later, before a cascade of water started in the shower and Blake stripped out of her yukata. Sticking it in her designated hamper (Jaune did this so as to avoid having to wash any of their undergarments, something the girls were rather thankful for.), she then undid the cloth wraps around her chest before folding them and placing them neatly on the sink.

Then she took off the bow.

Despite everyone in the room already knowing now, thanks to a meddling partner named Jaune (she still felt the need to thank him for everything he's done so far) she had still been wearing the bow to sleep. Call it something of a security, or perhaps just a reassurance that even should someone who isn't friendly enter the room they wouldn't see anything more than an odd girl who slept with a bow on.

It was better than the possibility of being bullied for something as simple as two extra appendages.

Shivering as the cool air outside of the shower made contact with her bare skin, she then stepped into the shower letting the hot water cleanse away any trace of sleep which might've been left. Relaxing under the hot current of water even as it came out from the metal nozzle, Blake took the short time she had (ten minutes as specified in Jaune's weekly email reminders for the rules of the dorm), to organize her thoughts.

Everything that was going on… It was crazy.

Completely and utterly absurd.

Impossible.

Five years ago, just after she'd run away and things were going well, everything changed. They finally started getting noticed, cared about… _Feared_. But alas, things were changing, the fear went ignored, instead being replaced by the respect it offered. The organization had always been one fighting for the people, but as so pointed out a few days ago by Jaune, it _had_ changed.

Blake had been right in the middle of it.

Briefly, her mind wandered to what Adam was doing before she destroyed the thought, vaporized everything left, and threw it into the metaphorical as well as digital trash can before right clicking and selecting delete. Adam had never been good for her. At least, her father had always insisted that.

Humming quietly to herself as she thought of her father, Blake realized how right he was.

He'd taken her from her home, brought her into the protests, the organization, showed her the entire thought that equality was possible… Then he never brought her back home, stopped the protests, made the organization unrecognizable, and didn't truly think of equality when he thought faunus.

When he thought faunus, he thought _alpha_.

Something which would normally be out of place for a bull came crashing down on Adam eventually… Pride. Such intense pride at being a faunus that it ruined him, made him think that they should be treated with a stupid amount of respect, made him _believe_ that there was no other way to live, that humans were _inferior_.

But, if humans were thought of as inferior… Then what was the difference in Adam's thinking compared to anyone who discriminated against faunus? Wasn't the exact same? Truly and completely?

That… That thought was that which brought Blake to her current place in the world. A place in which she had friends, true honest to God friends not forged by blood, or on the battlefield, but in the classrooms, and in the training rooms.

She wouldn't give that up for anything…

No. Not even Adam himself, the high and mighty Taurus could stop her.

SIghing and stepping out of the shower, now clean and smelling as nice as she could, Blake stepped onto the tile before hopping once more to the small rug. Putting on her undergarments, she deigned _not_ to wrap up her chest today. No… That would just look odd with what she was wearing today. Putting on her clothing for the day, she wondered why Jaune would recommend for her to wear such a thing.

While it wasn't necessarily odd, it was certainly not what she normally wore. If anything, it was something akin to what Yang wore underneath that prized leather of hers. A simple black tank top, as well as a pair of black leggings. Personally, Blake would've worn a pair of yoga pants should he have had them on hand, but naturally Jaune didn't.

While Jaune may be odd sometimes, and semi-socially inept the other times, even he knew that he shouldn't be buying women's yoga pants. Though, to guess her size wouldn't have been hard. While she'd only had the visor on for a few minutes the day before, she saw how it calculated everything, going through information in such immense amounts every second.

It was terrifying how much he could know with just a few seconds of gazing in her direction, and briefly Blake considered changing bra sizes if only so that it woulds screw with the measurements on the device.

Of course, that would've been redundant since she's already willingly given him a full body scan for the 3-D modeling system of his.

' _Which of course he used to create make my armor to my nearly exact measurements… Though to be fair, that was awhile ago. After all the training we've been doing, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if I've put on a few pounds of muscle and lost those last few pounds of fat I've been trying to get of forever.'_ Blake pouted. ' _Surely he wouldn't mind if I'm too lean right? I always hear about how people always like a nice bit of softness to hold onto rather than just hard flat stomach. Or maybe, Jaune woul- What am I doing? I've got far bigger things to be worrying about right now.'_

Stepping out of the bathroom, looked around the room. The sun was now higher in the sky, despite it only having been twenty or so minutes, but even then that might not be true. Walking over to the curtains, Blake pulled them open wincing as the harsh sunlight went directly into her face.

Stepping back, she looked at Ruby and Yang who were still sleeping and briefly considered waking them up before shaking her head. She'd let Jaune just handle that. After all, why poke a sleeping berserker with a stick?

Not to mention there was Yang sleeping there as well.

Sighing, Blake slipped on her shoes before grabbing her scroll. Reaching for the door handle she was about to open it before it opened by itself swinging slightly inwards. Caught off guard, Blake wasn't expecting for it to keep pushing so she just let the door push her before hearing a intense sound of muffled cursing.

Looking around the door, Blake came face to face with a Jaune who was now covered in food, and just a little bit of hot coffee. Seeing him standing there partially covered in hash brown, Blake instantly felt bad.

Wincing, Blake only remembered to whisper at the last moment. "Sorry."

Jaune just shook his head giving her a strained smile as the hot coffee burned into his chest. She could see it still steaming before he just gestured in her general direction. "You mind if I get through? I need to change apparently."

Stepping back and looking down a bit, Blake's curiosity was peaked thanks to Jaune going over to his bed. Looking briefly back into the hallway, she considered cleaning up the mess on the floor but decided against it.

They had janitors for that.

Looking over as Jaune stood back up with a new shirt, she briefly wondered if he'd have to change pants before thinking against it. He'd spilled nothing on them so there was no point.

With his back turned to her, he took off his black t-shirt and generally rubbed around the center of his chest with it before throwing it onto the ground. If he knew she was looking, he either didn't mind or was in so much pain that he didn't care at that exact moment in time. Though, to be fair, Blake was glad he didn't mind enough to head to the bathroom to change.

As he took of the shirt, Blake could see his back. It was lean, muscular, but not necessarily broad. Starting at where his back met his backside, Blake went upwards tracing up his spine with her eyes, looking at the few faint scars which could've only come from his training. All of this was of course, before she reached his shoulders.

They were round, and seemed to be almost half human. With skin stretched over half of them, the other half was the same metal which made up the rest. It was lumpy in a sort of way, while at the same time being smooth and looking black as night.

Going down, she could see where the machine made muscles of sorts had created his arm, and she watched as it all went down to his hands. Smirking as she looked at them, she thought about how even though they were just robotic arms, Jaune had still managed to turn them into something so much more complicated than what they could've been.

Why he hadn't settled on the usual arms hunters used when losing a limb she'd likely never know, and if she did, he'd say something like: "It's because I just felt as though I needed to use my brain to it's full capacity!" Or something of the sort.

Her eyes continued roaming before tracing back to his neck. Just as Jaune was pulling down the shirt over his chest on the other side, it got caught on his neck giving her just enough time to look a bit closer.

Just enough time to look a bit closer, and notice the huge sprawling scars across his shoulders and upper back.

She'd known they were bad, but Blake had absolutely no idea they were _that_ bad. Bad to the point in which they covered so much skin that they seemed like his actual skin? Yeah, that's bad.

Sighing as he passed her, Jaune stood outside of the door looking at her before gesturing with his hands a bit. Realizing he was gesturing for her to join him, Blake made sure her scroll was still in her hand before stepping out into the hallway.

Once the door was gently shut, Jaune smiled at her. "Sorry about that, wasn't expecting anybody to be on the other side of the door."

Blake recoiled slightly. _He_ had been at fault there? "No, that's completely my fault. I should've moved really." Blake said before they continued walking down the hallway, carefully avoiding his spilled food from earlier.

Jaune shrugged, making her imagine his shoulders. "We'll just agree we were both at fault then."

At that Blake nodded, breaking out of her mind. She could think about him later, preferably when she had time to think about him, and not just time in between now and a terrorist attack.

"Anyways, how are you doing Blake? Nervous?" Jaune asked as they continued down the hall. "I just want to know, because if this is making you feel uncomfortable just tell me okay?"

Blake nodded. "I'm a bit nervous. But I assume that's natural when de-"

"-aling with terrorists about to take down a kingdom." Jaune said saving her the task of finishing her sentence. Had anyone else done that to her though, Blake might've just been peeved. "Well, we spent a long time planning things out the past couple days. It's highly unlikely that things go totally tits up."

Blake snorted at his lame ending there. It's not normally like him to talk quite so casually, and use such 'hip' lingo. "Well, there's always the possibility of everything going wrong. The White Fang _are_ apparently getting smarter."

Jaune let out a chuckle at that. "Yes apparently. I'm still surprised that they got someone competent to run it so quickly after I jinxed it though. Oh well, what can we do about it eh?"

Patting one hand on her shoulder, Jaune rubbed it for a few seconds and she could faintly pick up the noise of the motors inside moving as he did so. Feeling herself de-stress slightly at his makeshift, one-sided massage, she would've started purring, but that would've been a bit odd so she refrained to.

By refrained to, Blake meant that she simply disguised it behind some humming.

Taking his hand off her shoulder, Jaune let it drop to his side as they stepped out of the dorm building and into the courtyard. Looking up at the colourful leaves of autumn, she took time herself to look.

Autumn was a nice time at Beacon.

The leaves fell, drifting off the trees, even as they rose in all shades of colour. From a dull orange, do a deep fiery red, every leaf seemed to have its own colour. Each one clashed with each other, but melded together perfectly with the mass on the rest of the tree.

They would blanket the ground before the snow would come, and they would all just disappear as though by magic, eventually degrading into nothing. It was the cycle of life, nature, and everything else.

Thinking back on it, Blake could've stood in that one moment forever.

Continuing along the path, her and Jaune made their way into the cafeteria before stepping into line. Jaune sighed, looking out the window. "You know, it's an annoyingly nice weekend for a terrorist attack."

Blake instantly was on high alert, looking around before he once again put a calming hand on her shoulder. Did it calm her down? No, not quite. Did it make her feel as though he _meant_ to bring up the terrorist attack while there were other uninvolved people around in a line for breakfast? Sort of.

Jaune chuckled at her reaction, before patting her on the head and messing up her just dried hair. Glaring in his direction, Blake tried to be as scary as possible but he just laughed. "Don't worry about it Blake. I doubt anybody here cares, and even then, we just need to relax. Things will get stressful enough this weekend, don't you worry."

Blake just sighed. Freaking her out for no good reason like that! How dare he!

They stood in line for what was likely around three minutes at most before sitting down in their usual table across from each other. Looking up at the clock on one of the walls of the cafeteria, Jaune nodded. "Yang and Ruby should've just woken up."

Blake nodded. They ran off of remarkably similar internal clocks when it came both to sleeping, and to waking. It probably had something to do with them both living in the same house for so long. It was nice. Sometimes Blake wished she had siblings.

Jaune took a bite of his toast before swallowing. "How's it going Blake?" He asked in a friendly manner, not unlike the usual way he asked people things.

She meanwhile just raised an eyebrow. "Suddenly taking an interest in how things are going? We were talking just a few minutes ago, and while this breakfast isn't spectacular, it definitely isn't enough to sway my mood."

Jaune laughed. He seemed to be doing that a lot that morning. If she had to guess, she'd say that it had something to do with the fact that he himself, was nervous. Despite organizing everything to the last letter, she supposes it is possible for him to be nervous.

"No, not now. I mean, just in general." Jaune said before taking another bite of his toast. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that it would fill the silence as he thought of what to say next. "Since the teams were made, it's always been you, Yang, Ruby, and me. Or Ruby, Yang, me, and you. It's very rarely just you, and me."

"So I was just thinking, that in this brief moment we have to ourselves, that I would talk a bit with my precious partner." Jaune said unknowingly making her face feel hot. Oh God, why did he have to be such an oblivious idiot? "So, like I said, how's it going? Just in general."

Blake looked at him and his easily grinning face before tilting her head for a second as though in deep thought. Straightening it again, she shrugged a bit. "Decent."

He nodded. "That's good. I hope everything on the team has been fine… Yang is a handful sometimes, but she's a great person. Ruby is so kind that I worry sometimes that being a huntress isn't for her…" Jaune laughed again. "Then she goes and tears apart a grimm in front of my eyes, or stomps on my training buddies who've been my friends for years without breaking a sweat."

Jaune shuddered for a second as though repressing a terrifying weapon. "I mean, I learned that women were terrifying back in..." He seemed to just stop talking for a second before continuing. "Anyways, how do you feel about our friends over at Team Lavender?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. Gossip? How unlike Jaune. Normally he has nothing to say about other unless it's to set the team straight on the facts or to tell them one of his favourite sayings.

People talk about people. Intelligent people talk about events. Geniuses discuss ideas.

Sighing, Blake just pursed her lips and shrugged. What was there to say that he didn't already think or assume? That's the tough bit with being partners with someone like Jaune… They know what you're going to say before you do most of the time. "They're nice. Nora is a bit loud, but that's just my opinion."

Jaune laughed, leaning back on his bench. "I think that's everyone in Vale's opinion. Honestly, I'm surprised Ren isn't deaf by now."

"Or gone mad. Honestly, if I was in Pyrrha and Weiss' position I would've gone mad by now. Pyrrha certainly doesn't deserve such a cruel fate. She's a nice girl." Blake said before taking a sip of her morning coffee and continuing. "Weiss is… Well, she's Weiss. She's a decent girl, and I think that should everything be fixed, I would be able to get along with her."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, she's always been that way. Though to be fair, that's through no fault of her own. Her environment made her that way, that as well as her father. Thankfully when I met her all those years ago I got her to at least _think_ about the notion of making the conditions better for faunus."

Taking a sip of his own beverage, Pep-Schnee as was his usual, Jaune gulped it down before continuing. "Trust me, she was far worse before. While now she may not be perfect, she'll get better. Sometimes all people need is time."

Blake nodded. While Adam had gotten worse over time, Weiss would do no such thing. If Jaune said so, it was basically a guarantee. That's simply the way he was. "How are you Jaune? Just, generally."

He smiled back in her direction before setting back down his drink and putting his plates back onto his tray. "I'm doing pretty well. My gold stocks went up, I have several beautiful friends who I live with and can trust with my life, I'm about to do good in the world, and my mother just called. All in all, I'd say that despite the whole 'White Fang' drama thing, I'm pretty good."

Blake tried to ignore what he meant by 'several beautiful friends' but found herself close to grinning despite herself. Choking her grin before it could make its way up to her mouth and let Jaune know how pleased she was, she instead changed the subject entirely. "Your mother? How is she doing?"

Jaune nodded before sighing a bit. "Fine. Another treatment on my father didn't work so she was a bit pushy but that's fine. I'm used to that as the one guy in the immediate family."

Blake nodded. While she didn't have siblings, if she had seven daughters and only one son she'd probably dote on him too. "That's good. How about you, do you have any ideas on how to help your father?"

Jaune's father wasn't per say a sensitive topic, but she could tell it was one he wasn't extremely comfortable discussion. From the way he slightly shifted his body to make himself more comfortable just showed he was uncomfortable to begin with.

"None really. Everything I've come up with has been either too inhumane, or too risky to try without other test subjects. But naturally, when this is one of five cases in the _world_ , it's hard to find said test subjects." Jaune said before it was his turn to change topics. If there's one thing she's learned, it's that he always houses a huge cornucopia of useless knowledge at all times. "My mother's really been pushing for me to visit for the solstice. Keeps telling me to bring a nice girl home, introduce her to the family. Something about keeping the Arc's strong or something."

Blake nodded. "Well I'm sure Ruby or Yang would be glad to accompany you." She knew the meaning behind his mother's words, even if Jaune himself did not. Sure, while it may have _annoyed_ her a bit that she would have to make someone other than herself go with Jaune on break, it was for the best.

She's been told she's stoic, unfeeling and snarky before. In other words, the _opposite_ of nice.

Jaune just shook his head. "For the break they're going straight back to their Dad's place on Patch. I was thinking that after visiting for the actual date itself, I would head over to their place. Of course, I haven't proposed this yes, but I assume that they'd be fine with it."

Blake nodded. That was all that's needed, and they sat there in comfortable silence, with Jaune looking upwards and at an angle as though imagining a scenario in his head. Getting up, he took her tray getting a mumbled thank you in return before coming back and sitting down.

"Blake, I know you're more of a coffee person, but how do you feel about tea?" Jaune asked, breaking the silence before looking up at the clock again.

She shrugged. She's learned to take coffee when she could get it from back in her White Fang days, something not too difficult since Adam was her partner, but it was still more rare. So while she preferred coffee, she's had tea on occasion. "I can tolerate it I suppose as long as it's not too strong."

Jaune grinned at her. "How about you then? You're a perfectly nice girl, not to mention intelligent and likely able to make some conversation with my sisters. If not, they'd be fascinated by you anyways, and if you'd really like you can always just slip into the shadows."

Confusing herself even more for a brief moment before shaking her head, Blake sighed. "No."

Jaune pouted. "C'mon Blake! What else would you be doing on the break? It would make my mother happy! I'd owe you one! A big one! It wouldn't be that bad! You could have a room to yourself, a butler, all you can eat! Training facilities!"

She sighed again. "I seriously doubt I could hold a conversation with your mother."

He just laughed. That's right, _laughed_ at her reason, valid though it was. "We could just tell her you're mute. Trust me, it would be fine."

"No."

At that Jaune sighed. Putting his hands on the table, he ghosted his metal fingers across the surface. "What would it take for you to come?"

Blake looked up for a second. Would it really be _that_ bad going with Jaune on break? It was a few weeks away, and currently her plans consisted of 'find something to do for break'. She could go, and then they could go join the rest of the team in Ruby's cabin in Patch…

Huh, maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

But… If he was going to offer her things, she'd take advantage.

Smiling, just a little bit at the notion of finally having something to do, not to mention with somebody she'd like to do stuff with, Blake put her hands on the table. "That fish and chip place you've promised Ruby? You're buying it for me instead."

"Done."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

That day with Blake and the teams was a blur. Everything happened. They got things together, created the explosives, went over roles, specifics, general rules. A few people took notes, but he told them to go straight to bed anyways.

There wouldn't be time to sleep the next day. Either from adrenaline, or because they'd be fighting until dawn.

The next day was even more of a blur. From Jaune moving here, there, setting up cameras all over the docks, to organizing the explosives. Everything had to be so carefully put together… Even the slightest tremor of his hand could cause an explosion dooming millio-

"Wooo!" Nora shouted nearly breaking his ear drums even though she was at least seventy feet away. Looking in her direction, he saw her jumping from crate to crate, apparently practicing for her dramatic entrance later before jumping off entirely and hitting the ground with her fist.

He was surprised it didn't crunch like a piece of ice against the concrete.

Knowing that she'd have to wait a few seconds to recharge her meta-Nora-cle (Get it? Like metaphorical?) batteries, Jaune quickly finished setting up the explosives before stepping back. The C4 was now in place, and shouldn't end up blowing unless someone hit the button connected to the detonator in his pocket.

The odds of that were slim.

Turning around, he came face to face with Yang. "I don't know why, but I have a sudden urge to say 'Nice one Jaune!' and give you a thumbs up!" She said with a bounce. Definitely _not_ watching how her blessed breasts bounced as she did that, Jaune shrugged.

"I have no idea why."

Falling into step beside him, Yang came around, surveying everything like he was. Mimicking his motions exactly, whether to mock him or to actually see something, they went around checking everything before going to stand in the center of the large open area.

Reaching upwards towards the comm in his ear, Jaune pressed on the button making it go live and send a call out to everybody. It was two button presses to get directly to him, and the various other numbers went to various other people. However, only press was everyone.

"Alright, we're all set up on the ground, how's it looking from overwatch?" Jaune asked as the program began filtering out unwanted noise. He could never really tolerate seagulls that often. Not after Mozambique…

Little rats of the sky.

Ruby's chipper voice came out a few seconds later as well as a few mumbles before she started. "Is this thing actually on? Uhh, Pyrrha, does the light mean it's on?"

Hearing some sort of noise of agreement, Jaune listened despite the static as Ruby put it back in. "Alright, overwatch here, what can I do for you?"

Jaune sighed before repeating his question. "How's it looking overwatch?"

Ruby made a hum of agreement before answering the question he's asked twice now. "Good. We have eyes on everything, the forecast should stay the same. By the way thanks for that shot-guider thingy. It helps a bunch, but doesn't feel as though it's taking away my control."

Jaune nodded. The shot guider. It was the gift he had for Ruby. Still in its early stages, but it automatically calculated everything needed to make the shot, putting an overlay over the scope where it would _actually_ land. Sooner or later it would have a future to pre-fire shots at moving targets, but its good enough.

Nodding, Jaune continued. "Alright, keep up the good work. We only have a few hours to wait. How's it going guerilla team?"

Ren's voice came in a few seconds later. He's been considering giving it to Russel, but he was unreliable sometimes…. He also considered giving it to Blake, but that would make him have to specify which set of ears she should use for it, and he was _not_ opening _that_ can of worms.

"How may we assist you?" Ren said coming in. While everyone had a comm, the few leaders of the teams were required to sign in for that. Though, for the battle, they'd be doing roll call every two minutes, to insure everyone was there.

"Do all of you have a decent grasp of the terrain?" Jaune asked. While it wasn't really terrain, it still counted in his books. Despite not being able to see Ren, he could guess he was nodding from across the earpiece.

"Yes. We simply should practice a bit before nightfall, but otherwise we should be fairly coordinated." He said coming in.

Jaune thought for a second before dialing up Ren again. "I'm transferring Dove over to your unit. His shortsword is probably better for the close ranges you'll be working in."

Once more, Ren came in a few seconds later. He heard a sigh, and then some shuffling before getting an affirmative. "We're in quadrant 'U4'."

Making the necessary call to Dove, he watched as he mosied along the lot towards the containers. Seeing him disappear into the metal jungle, Jaune nodded. So, everything was set up except for his unit. Holding down on his earpiece for four seconds, Jaune got to his own telling them to assemble in front of him.

It was a few minutes later before they were all there, and ready. Nora was bouncing happily, shifting and reshifting her weapon constantly, likely trying to ensure that there's no flaws in the mechanism before they started.

Say about Nora what you will, but she was an intelligent gal.

Now with Nora, Weiss, Yang, and Cardin in front of him, Jaune stood at their front gesturing to the area around them. "Here's our battleground."

They nodded, paying attention. That's good. Despite all of Nora's psychopathic leg-breaking tendencies, as well as her general cheerfulness, she was able to be serious sometimes! "Now, Weiss, I know that you use large broad strokes of the elements with your rapier, as well as your glyphs, so keep it trained on the center and not outwards."

"Okay. Should I travel around clockwise so as to keep moving and aiming towards the center?" She asked raising a real question. Imagining it in his mind, Jaune shook his head.

"The risk of missing is higher if you move. Don't bother. Besides, they'll basically be trained on you since you're a Schnee. In other words, you're our bait." Jaune said grinned. He saw her petite throat swallow before she asked another question.

"Who am I baiting?"

Jaune nodded. "You'll be baiting the grunts and the lieutenants. Cardin, Yang, that's where you come in. Really, you should both be able to take out a few grunts before heading for the lieutenants. Weiss will be able to assist before she takes out a majority of the grunts using her speed advantage."

At that, all three of them gave a dull affirmative. This was about to happen, so it was best that they listened to him. Nora bounced happily, unable to stay still for too long before she raised her hand. "What about me! I want to _BREAK THEIR LEGS_." She said letting out her inner demon for a second before giggling and whipping out her hammer again.

Jaune nodded. "Nora, you're going to shoot them out of the sky. You'll be rotating. As they keep people trained on Weiss, you'll hide over there." He gestured to a general area in the west-wards direction. "It's safe to assume they're coming from one of the few shoreline warehouses able to house Bullheads, meaning they'll come in from over the water. Try shooting them down before they get too close to the containers."

Nora gave him a happy salute. " _Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroger_ that!"

Nodding, Jaune turned to his team before turning on his comms sending out a call to all of them. Looking up at the sky, he assumed they had maybe six hours of waiting left before they'll be here. They've spent the past day preparing, going over maneuvers, getting everything together.

This was it.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, hunker down but stay limber. We've got one hell of a fight ahead of us."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune shivered. It was much colder than he thought it would be, and his arms weren't heating him up much. They'd taken to huddling generally around him, and Jaune tried to ignore Yang's soft orbs pressing against his back no matter how nice or absolutely _divine_ they felt.

Yep… Ignoring them.

A few seconds later, they were all scrambling to their feet from the little hole in the containers they were hunkering down in. Ruby had just sent in something over the comms. "Mango-Mango to Brown Tango, we've got a few Bravo Charlies coming in."

Jaune sighed over the comms even in the situation he was in. "No, I'm Brown Mango, you're Pineapple Mango."

"Who cares! They're coming in on you hot!" She said and he could hear her drop the calls. They knew what to do. Waiting in bated breath, the rest of them all waited there, ready to spring into action.

They sat there, waiting until they were right on top of them, too close to retreat without exposing their pilots to the sniper fire. They waited until the moment in which they could hear the humming of the engines themselves, as they slowed down before letting a ground crew off.

Then, with a nod to one another, they ran out of the crates.

There was no mighty war cry, no signal to announce their arrival. They were simply there.

Like lightning in the middle of a clear sky, like hammer onto an anvil, like nasty porn-given virus onto a hard drive, they crushed into the enemy.

It had begun.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Here we go! Done a day late, but on time! Technically, since I'm typing 'Criminal Mastermind!' on Tuesdays now, this is kind of on time! Woo! Longer than I thought it would be too, which is great.

Not much happened, but I needed to set up the break, as well as the battle. Not to mention give you guys a bit of showertime-naked Blake. Even if it wasn't overly described.

Also, woo! Volume 5 is good so far! Liking the animation, and my guess was right about two of the relics. Overall, doesn't change the story one bit so far! Woo!

Now, I'm going to answer these reviews. Speaking of which, leave a review. But most importantly, have an absolutely wonderful night, and a great day! Destiny 2 (PC) comes out tomorrow, and my hoodie and shirts came today, so I know I'm happy! Anyone else playing it?

 **Review Responses:**

 **alrickit:** I respond to all reviews! Also, no. We do not explain Mozambique. _Ever_.

 **son of a mictlantecuhtli:** Sorry about that! Life stopped me from writing. I hope you re-enjoy your way to this point!  
 **Random O' Panda:** I will never leave a story my friend. May the Tetris be with you.

 **desdelor97:** Thanks man! Good to know you're here 'till the end!  
 **anand891996:** Aha! I have found a moment in which Ruby acts like a leader! In Forever Fall she says a thing! Also, we talked about this in PM!

 **Thedarkness1996:** I've seen Chapter One of Volume 5. That's good enough for me.

 **Raidentensho:** I don't know those series… Sorry.

 **1st Dragon King:** Man! I want Shadow Of War, but with Destiny 2 coming out tomorrow for PC, that's already going to take up all my time!  
 **Shawn1302:** Yeah, I know. I just don't want to do that.

 **DuplicateUserName:** Why thank you!

Now, I'm going to get off! Have a wonderful night folks, and remember, leave a review!

-DragonManMax


	14. Chapter 12

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

" **A nice girl is never nice to you, because they're simply nice to everyone."**

 **Note:** Hello! Writing this all on Sunday/Monday, since one, my room is getting painted apparently this weekend, and two, I have two essays to write for Tuesday that I 'technically' haven't even started yet!

Fantastic!

Now, want to know something weird? Someone in my school said something like: "We don't talk about Mozambique." In the halls one day. While yes, it could've just been a coincidence, I highly doubt it. Seriously, of all the things they could've said, they said that?

You know you've seen me if you meet someone named Max wearing all black. I mean, seriously. While I've got all sorts of colours in my (colour-coded fyi) closet, I only wear black to school.

My almost-kind-of-maybe-girlfriend-#friendzoned-thing makes fun of me for doing that.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter XII**

* * *

As soon as Jaune's heavier footfalls began to echo around the lot, he expanded his power a bit causing his visor to spring up protecting his face, and most of his head. Better the White Fang shit themselves seeing a silver faced-red eyed specter then see a young man, barely out of his teens.

Even then, he _wasn't_ out of his teens!

Reaching his hand down, the metal of his palm made contact with the handle of Fate's Whip, and he grabbed it, drawing it out with a rasp of steel. _That_ at least got the attention of the terrorists.

Well, they couldn't really stay oblivious forever could they?

Hearing Weiss' dust chamber spin, and Yang's Ember Celica extend to cover more of her hands, Jaune knew that they were noticed. Turning in sync, the twenty odd White Fang soldier's all seemed to be drawn into momentary confusion before control was re-established by the lieutenants.

Now that he's seen in which direction that they all looked at when confronted with a problem they couldn't solve, he knew who their captain was. What a captain it was… In hindsight, it was really rather obvious.

Compared to the regular White Fang soldier, they were quite tall, around eight feet. The similarity in height between the two of them automatically made Jaune assume they were related in some way, either through faunus species or through actual blood. Through with the correct amount of the proper steroids for a long enough period of time in which it was necessary, in theory they could've been groomed to grow that tall.

Though, considering the White Fang were only _just_ becoming competent, that was unlikely.

They themselves wore white vests, leaving their arms bare, as well as black pants which were standard issue for nearly anyone in the military. Of course, they were able to be gotten at most work warehouses, but let's not talk about that.

Each of them carried a large lance-like object, with a six foot pole as the handle, and a large chainsaw looking device on the end. A quick sense of his semblance let him see deeper into the mechanism, and he confirmed that yes, it would indeed crush or saw through any flesh and bone it encountered.

Or at least do what a chainsaw would normally due to human and or faunus-kind's squishy flesh.

By his predictions, most of his group could probably withstand it using their aura for a few moments, one maybe two, before their aura gave out and they'd need to retreat. Well… That, or they'd become a rather big mess really, by that wasn't a thought Jaune even needed to consider.

After all, with people who have Yang's, Cardin's, and Weiss' semblances while having three people on overwatch as well as trump-card Nora, it's hard to imagine them getting to that point.

Just as one of them raised their rifle to their shoulder, Jaune slowed his perception of time, overclocking his brain the point in which he could comprehend and see everything around him without a moment going by.

He was still in motion, and he knew it, and his brain comprehended he was still in motion, so he had to remain in motion, causing him to have to continue the want to run even as he soaked in information, but by this point it wasn't that difficult.

Each of the twenty men divided into tens was a normal looking White Fang grunt. They seemed as though directly out of a non-existent recruitment poster. Dressed in white vests, black gloves, black pants, and odd white plated shoes, they looked a bit ridiculous. The occasional one or two had a new set of ears pointing through the sides of the hood which covered their faces, and at least one had a tail. Odd, since those were main identifying features, and should really be kept hidden if they're trying to remain incognito with the masks.

Of course, the masks were meant to be an intimidation method, taking after the grimm so as to inspire fear in their targets and victims. Naturally, what the mask has come to represent scares people more than the actual grimm themselves, unless you were in a frontier town of a sort, but there's not a huge benefit to victimising people where there's already little law to be found.

With their standard issue blades and what appeared to be pistols strapped to their legs, only a very small amount of them carried actual rifles. Meaning, that there was only a small amount of weapons which could truly pierce through aura at full, and even then everyone here's aura could probably tank it except for Ruby's.

But, as she was on a crane a few hundred feet away, it seemed highly unlikely that she would be put into that situation.

Stopping his brain over-clocking, Jaune watched as reality crashed back him in full force, the adjustment making him stumble before he changed it into a slide and whipped up his scabbard, turning it into a shield just in time to stop the bullets heading for him.

Rolling forwards and using it as he did so, Jaune rolled back to his feet in a lunge position before lunging forwards into the fray. Raising his shield to deflect a bullet from the left, Jaune made a horizontal slash towards the closest man, batting his weapon to the side.

Headbutting the stunned defender, Jaune whirled around kicking him in the gut before dropping to one knee. Deflecting another set of bullets, Jaune felt them pinging at his shield, and felt the air displace as it rushed past his leg.

Seeing Yang jumping into the group firing at him, Jaune turned his back to the enemy trusting her to go berserk and take care of them on her own. Out of his peripherals, he vaguely recalls seeing someone go launched into the air while giving a scream he swore he saw in a movie somewhere…

Raising his shield against the oncoming bullet fire, Jaune moved his hand around the inside handle pressing one of the hidden buttons causing a bright flash to come out the front of it via-the frontwards dust crystals.

Lowering it and lunging towards his opponents he backhanded one with his shield before kneeing him in the balls and smacking the hilt of his blade into his back before turning and slashing at head height towards another one.

Twisting his blade at the last second he smacked the flat of his blade against the man's temple before flashing his blade away, nicking the man's ear. Jumping, Jaune spun in the air drawing attention before pressing another button on his shield causing him to drop down far faster than regular falling.

Slamming into the ground with his shield before throwing it into the air, he watched as Cardin jumped up out of nowhere smacking into it with his mace. The shield flew, now propelled by the explosive strength behind Cardin's mace, and the explosion which accompanied it.

Ramming into the chest of a White Fang member, the shield didn't bounce back but rather fell to the ground, so Jaune dropped his blade too reaching into the back of his outfit and wrapping his hand around the small compacted form of his crossbow.

It took him a few seconds to find an actual target, but once his eyes locked onto the lieutenant charging towards Weiss, he found himself switching the dust-type to fire and launching some bolts in the direction.

Watching the fire streak through the air, he missed two shots before one of them landed in the man's left leg, burying itself in the man's calf, automatically cauterizing from the intense heat. It would cause unbearable pain, and it did, making him stumble before falling with an agonized scream.

He was too focused on Weiss' safety to notice the guy behind him.

Hearing Yang's shout, Jaune turned just in time to see a blade swinging for his ribs before a gunshot cracked through the air and the man dropped the blade. It continued on its trajectory, but simply hit into Jaune's armor plate and fell onto the ground as the man held onto his bloodied wrist.

' _Remind me never to try and attempt to outshoot Ruby, because God damn that shot was amazing!'_ Jaune thought before looking up for a brief moment and waving towards Ruby. Despite the fact he couldn't see her, he figured she would still be looking at him for at least a second.

Putting his finger up to his comm, Jaune gave a quick whisper. "Thanks Pineapple Mango, you sure saved my bacon back there."

He got a lovely giggle over the comms as he used the brief moment of safety to grab his shield and blade back. That was the only response he got, but the fact that he made Ruby giggle, even out of nervousness at the situation right now, it was good enough.

Who doesn't like making a cute girl laugh?

Speaking of cute girls… Running towards Weiss, Jaune jumped upwards fist cocked back and wrapped around his hilt as he punched a man in the face sending him spinning to the ground before he dodged and weaved his way to her side.

While he'd temporarily took out that lieutenant and had his little moment with Ruby, that had given him time to rip the bolt out of his leg. Let me tell you, that's not pretty considering that the tip of the bolt expands like a porcupine quill upon contact with moisture and digs into the muscle.

God, he must be in intense pain, yet still he continued onwards. That right there is devotion.

Devotion to an idea which would never work in the first place.

Though at least now Jaune knew just how devoted they were, and something akin to their abilities. Shrugging off a hit like that without screaming in absolutely agonizing pain? That takes effort, lots and lots of it.

Not to mention that by the fact that he did it and didn't seem all to worried, it highlighted that it's indeed possible that they have aura. Or at least one of them has aura.

Making his way through the men, Jaune heard the general hum of Bullheads coming back around. If he was right, two of these predicted five would carry in more men, assumedly the people who would be in charge once the perimeter was cleared.

Hurrying towards Weiss, he trusted Yang as well as Cardin and the general overwatch team of Pyrrha, Ruby and Sky to take care of the rest. Weiss would need his help considering the fact that the next lieutenant just got through the fight and was heading towards her.

The plan so far wasn't quite going to plan. Where Yang and Cardin were supposed to take down some grunts before holding off the lieutenants and wait for assistance from either him or Weiss, both of them were heading towards Weiss while Yang and Cardin tagteamed the few grunts left.

Running towards Weiss, he jumped over a lieutenant before catching the swing of the man's spear against his shield and sliding backwards. Feeling the huge amount of force shoving him backwards, Jaune ripped his blade to the side catching it against the chainsaw-spear's shaft and stopping it there.

The man looked down grunting. "Stay out of this kid, and just let us kill your little friend here!" He said drawing it out with his deep 'angry' voice. Laughing in his face, Jaune got a kick to his shield for his service before sliding back towards Weiss.

Stopping in front of her while she lined up her targets, Jaune looked back over his shoulder. "Well, this reminds me of a time long ago in a city state far far away." Giving another laugh while Weiss rolled her eyes at the Mozambique reference, Jaune raised his shield, keeping his blade to his side while the lieutenants walked over, taking their sweet time.

Hearing the hum of the Bullheads over the water, Jaune knew they had to hurry things up. After all, the had to stop them didn't they? Putting his back to Weiss' as a few of the grunts escaped Yang and Cardin while beginning to head towards them, Jaune felt her soft back against his.

He knew that under that cold hard exterior Weiss, had a heart of gold and one hell of a backbone. Well, one hell of a backside too, but he wouldn't tell her that!

After all, why let a girl know what power she has over a man?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"So, any ideas Weiss? While you're very soft and I wouldn't mind staying like this for a little while, I suggest we get a move on." Jaune's voice came over her shoulder making her raise an eyebrow. Was Jaune attempting to flirt? Or was that a genuine compliment?

"Normally you're in charge of the planning Jaune." She said. It's true, he normally _did_ plan the important stuff like this. "Though, I've got a few ideas."

"Care to share them snow angel?" Jaune said before reaching his hand into the back of his outfit and taking out his crossbow again. Unfolding it, he aimed at the incoming grunts while Weiss prepared herself and tried to calm the pink in her unfortunately pale cheeks.

How dare he be so obliviously charming!

"You stall the lieutenants, I'll take the little guys." She said before conjuring up a time-dilation glyph below her feet. Hearing a sigh from behind her, Weiss didn't have time to dwell on it before she flew forwards, blade extended.

Hearing Jaune push off a second later, Weiss flew forwards blade extended towards the foe. Dodging to the side in her forwards propulsion, she batted aside the large inelegant blade he was using and slashed across his chest opening the fabric but not cutting him.

Twirling she kicked him in the knee causing him to crumple before batting him in the side of the head with her pommel. Turning to face the next one, she twirled the dust canisters on the blade locking it onto the ice one before slashing it downwards.

Catching his legs in some rapidly appearing and strong ice, she watched as he briefly struggled before catching a heel to the side of his face. Turning around she cast a gravity glyph in front of her, stopping the bullets in their tracks before lunging forwards and casting a set of anti-gravity and time-dilation glyphs under her feet.

Launching forwards, she landed on the first one before pushing off twice the speed she was going from the last one. Her brain was already developing a headache, and her heels weren't helping, but she ctontinued bouncing around the enemy and cutting into their uniforms before achieving maximum set speed for that set and crashing into them.

Letting her flying heel crush into a man's face with a terrifying crunch, she saw the rush of blood splash onto her shoes before twisting in the air and pushing off of his face to smack her fist, still wrapped around the handle of Myrtenaster into the temple of the next one before switching to lightning.

Casting it back like a whip she shot her arm forwards accelerating the lightning through the blade before it hit into the lightning glyph on the end and amplified itself shocking the last one into a steaming mess.

' _None of them are dead at least! Right? Probably? Well, anyways, they deserve the bills for the plastic surgery they'll need to look good again. Now they know why not to mess around!'_ Weiss thought before lunging forwards and stopping as she observed for when she should jump in.

Jaune was battling them off, looking as strained as she's ever seen him, watching as he caught one of the chainsaw-spears on his shield before twisting and jumping over the next one. Twisting his shield back to him, Jaune turned in the air before crouching behind his shield, and Weiss knew he must've his one of the hidden functions on the shield.

The bright flashes came out of the front as she expected, and her eyes closed while her head turned and there was the sound of rapid clicking before she opened her eyes to the two stunned lieutenants.

Hearing a sniper shot over the din of combat, she watched as the pavement in front of them shattered and turned into dust. Mentally thanking whoever it was that shot that, she lunged forwards blade extended in a piercing motion aiming for the shoulder before the man's apparently bad leg crumpled taking him down.

As she missed, he dropped his spear and lashed out with his fist catching her in the stomach with his wild attack. Headbutting in the general direction she was falling, he missed and cracked his mask on the blade still in her hand.

Hearing the scream of pain as the plaster and fiberglass mask shattered into his eyes, Weiss stopped clutching her stomach and drew in the huge amount of air she'd been robbed of when she was winded before cutting forwards and casting a earth glyph on the entire edge of her blade.

Materializing into a set of stone rocks and earth over the edge of her blade, it increased greatly in weight before she cast another gravity glyph and rocketed it into the side of his head knocking him out cold against the ground.

Turning to help Jaune with his, she watched as he jumped over the low sweep of the spear, ignoring the dangerous spinning saw blade before he backhanded the eight foot tall man and rammed the hilt of his sword into his skull before watching astounded as nothing happened.

Wrapping his unused hand around Jaune's throat, the lieutenant watched as Jaune dropped both his shield and his sword running his arms upwards to catch onto the hand around his neck before gasping for what air he could get next.

Rushing forwards, Weiss cut the hand holding the spear as the man's hold tightened on Jaune and the spear dropped to the ground. Sliding to a stop behind the man, she instantly cast a full set of glyphs before bouncing into them and rocketing right back, blade extended.

How DARE he!

Rushing forwards, she watched in her enhanced state of speed and being as he crumpled to the ground in pain, blood spraying across Jaune's chest as the dismembered hand fell to the ground. Realizing she couldn't stop in time, she shifted her blade to the left before crashing into Jaune.

Flying forwards, she felt his arm wrap around her back as he twisted and they went crashing into the cement. She felt her knees scrape against the hard ground before they bounced once and she felt herself on her front side, pressed against Jaune's chest.

Groaning and opening his arm, Jaune let her fall to the side beside him gasping for breath from the high speed impact. Really, it could've ended much worse. Right? Coughing, Jaune's mask opened up revealing some blood running down the side of his face before he spit onto the ground and took in as much air as possible.

Turning to his front, Jaune used his arm to get himself up. Vaguely noticing that he wasn't using his right arm, Weiss also noticed her blade was gone. Looking down at her, Jaune stuck out his left hand helping her up before looking down at his right arm and scowling.

"I'd say I'm _all right_ , but that would be a pour choice of words considering the fact that my arm isn't moving." Jaune said before reaching into the upper arm area of his arm. Fumbling around with his robotic left hand, he seemed to find something before looking down at her. "The point of Myrtenaster snapped off in my arm when you made contact. I'd assume your blade is somewhere nearby, but without a point it won't do much really."

Weiss covered her mouth with her hands. She'd essentially just _crippled_ him again! Had he been _anyone_ else Jaune would've been in such intense pain he wouldn't be able to think right now. The point would've gone straight to the bon-

"-eiss!" Snapping his metal fingers to little success in front of her face, Jaune pulled her into his chest and she ignored the warm sticky feeling of blood as she sunk into it, knees shaking. Pulling her closer, Jaune put his face to her hair, allowing them one second to break while the approaching engines of the new Bullheads came closer. "Don't for a second let yourself feel guilty okay?"

"B-but I-" Weiss felt it catch in her throat before she shook and took in a long shuddering breath against his chest. "If you were a-"

"Yes, if I was around eight inches to my right I would've died without a doubt, yet I'm not dead, and I'm just out a simple tool." He said stroking her hair for a second. He must have some trust in his teammates to let them deal with everything for so long. "So don't worry about it for a second."

Weiss took in another breath, stopping the tears even as they pooled in her eyes. H-He was right wasn't he? Had he been a few inches too further left she would've not just _crippled_ him, she would've totally _killed_ him! The thought filled her and made her sick to her stomach.

Of all people, she almost just killed _Jaune_ , and that thought terrified her.

"Don't worry about it okay Weiss? Now you're drained, you've cast far too many glyphs."

That's right… For now, she had to insure everything went over well. They had a job to do. A job in which they must succeed for the greater good. Shuddering, Weiss drew back from him looking into his hardened face before he pointed out her weapon an odd twenty feet away. "Now let's get back to work."

Looking out over their other allies, Jaune simply sighed and there was a whoosh as his right arm fell off of his body, the locking mechanism keeping it attached disengaged. There was no point keeping an arm that couldn't move she supposed.

Jogging over to her blade, she looked on as she noticed the top four inches of it were gone. Sighing, she tucked it into its loop on her belt before going to stand beside Jaune. The bullheads were coming in, and she'd be damned if she let another bad thing happen to him.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"Alright everyone, we've got the important ones coming in now. Overwatch, aim for the engines and pilots, break the windshields, just stop them from leaving. Guerilla squadron, status?" Jaune's voice came over the comms calmly, despite the gunshots and shotgun blasts which echoed even to them.

Ren thought for a moment before answering and dusting off his hands. They had around twelve people tied up here themselves, thanks to Blake's night vision and the help of Russell's semblance. It was quite easy really, but no less important.

Had this ground squad attacked into the main group and flanked successfully, it would've been a very unpleasant surprise. How Jaune had predicted it Ren did not know, but he wasn't all too interested at the moment either. He was simply good at predicting things, and that was enough.

"We've restrained the terrorists. It seems as though no more are coming." Ren said before taking his finger off the comm. Reaching down, he grabbed his weapons from where he'd set them onto the ground and put them into his sleeves.

There was a few seconds of silence before Jaune's voice came over again. "Good. Weiss and I are out of commision due to a fault in my arm's mechanics and Weiss' blade being broken, we could use a bit of backup."

Ren nodded. A fault in mechanics. Those used to happen a lot even with something as simple as his own, non-mecha shiftable weapons, it's fair to assume that they'd happen to something as complicated as Jaune's arms. Weiss' weapon breaking is also understandable, it's likely not meant to do the slashing and hits which are used to incapacitate non-lethally, since it's meant for piercing.

Looking at his group, Ren quickly analyzed them. Russel and Dove seemed to be in very good shape still, and didn't seem very tired. Something about a hellish taskmaster's training and a hellish country somewhere in the world was what he'd gotten when asking about their stamina.

Blake was getting a bit tired, but should be good enough to go and back them up along with himself. He was doing well, if low on shock rounds. Putting his fingers back into his comm, Ren pressed against the button and took his hand away leaving it on. No point turning it off for now. "Blake and I will move to assist. Anything we need to know before we go in?"

Jaune came back in moments. "Five more Bullheads are entering. Two of them have passengers due to the lack of electromagnet, and the others are planning on making return trips I assume."

"Very well then." Ren said before Russel and Dove came over to him. Letting the comm turn off while they assembled their gear again, he briefly considered what they should do before getting Blake to his side. "Gentlemen, hold off any more forces coming in but be prepared to retreat if they're overwhelming. You'll fall back to 'H7' and under the event that you're still being overwhelmed, call in for backup."

He got some noises in affirmation back from them, but it was unnecessary. While they didn't talk much, they knew how to follow orders very well, and were reliable in a pinch, as proven several times through the current course of the battle.

"Very well then Blake. After you." Ren said before gesturing down the general alley between the two crates which would lead to them getting to the lot in which everyone was fighting in currently. Getting a nod back and a mumble of what was probably thanks, Ren followed her into the darkness.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Pyrrha watched as the Bullheads came in from behind them, flying in low and just over the crane. They had to take cover every time they did so, lest the notice them, but so far they've gone unnoticed except by the people who found a mysterious dust charge in them somehow.

Watching as the five went, much like Jaune predicted, towards the containers and the large open lot in the center. Making sure to mentally thank Jaune for lending her this scope later, Pyrrha watched as three of them went over some dust containers situated near the top while another two stopped and spiraled down, landing onto the tarmac.

The doors opened, and she instantly trained her sights on the doors. Whoever was in there must've been important to have come in so late. Either that, or they were just attempting to be fashionably late, and failing spectacularly.

' _I'm counting four grunts from the second one, and from the third one is two more grunts and… Is that Roman Torchwick? I can't quite tell from here, but the orange hair is normally quite distinctive. But, wait. Who is that by his side?'_

"Ruby, get the ones in the left Bullhead, I've got the one's in the one to the right. I'm almost out of shock rounds though, so we'll have to make them count." Pyrrha said alerting the younger girl to their lessening amount of shock rounds. They were useful, still piercing into the skin and stunning rather than killing right away.

Safer than the incendiary bullets for sure.

Watching them walk out, calm and sure with their auto-rifles, they looked much more well equipped than the rest of the grunts before them. Whereas before it was all pistols or blades, each one of the new grunts seemed to be carrying heavier weapons, all with attachments if the light coming from the front was any indication.

Taking a brief moment to scan the rest of the battlefield, she watched as Yang dusted off her hands with a few claps and went over to stand beside Jaune and Weiss. Noticing that yes, Jaune was indeed missing his right arm, she made sure to note that she should cover that side of him should he require assistance.

Seeing how the four of them, Cardin, Yang, Weiss and Jaune were all standing there, Pyrrha noticed something. In all of this, it's always been those four hasn't it? If the guerilla squadron consisted of Blake, Ren, Russel and Dove, while the overwatch squadron contained herself, Ruby, and Sky, then that left out one person.

Just where was Nora?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune blanched as he watched Yang take a step beside him. Thrusting his left hand out in front of her waist, he stopped her from making any irrational and dangerous moves. Roman Torchwick has just stepped off of that Bullhead.

That in itself was enough to make Jaune wary.

Before when he'd had both arms and was able to actually swing his blade with a high level of proficiency he was wary. No one quite knew of Torchwick's background or training, so really no one knew what to expect. That unexpected variable was something Jaune didn't like.

He only like unknown variables in math problems.

"Good to see you know when to restrain your bimbo Mr. Whatever your name is." He said, grinning while opening his arms. His more heavily armed men moved forwards, taking an actual position rather than a loose formation like before. "We wouldn't want her to get hurt now would we kiddo?"

Yang bristled at the comment but said nothing. Jaune noticed her eyes flashing red, but her just tapped her hip and she took a step back, still mad. Which to be fair was acceptable, after all, she certainly didn't think herself a bimbo.

Jaune didn't think of her as one either. Yang was a very nice girl, who melted like fudge at little gestures. At least, that's what he'd expect from a girl as normally rough and tumble as Yang.

"We have you outnumbered." Jaune said, trying to feel as cocky as he hoped he looked. His father always said life was about being a showman, and he wasn't really incorrect when saying that. "We've got your grunts out-trained, know your plan, and are putting a stop to it."

"So why bother coming out?" He asked, feeling fairly certain he knew the answer. After all, while the White Fang may be more competent now, he still doubts they'd listen to a human on what operation to do when. "It just doesn't make sense."

With that, the man dressed in white descended from his point on the Bullhead's ramp. Walking down it as though he were on a leisurely stroll, he twirled his cane before putting it down and onto the metal. "For one, technically we outnumber you. Second, while you may indeed have the animals here out of their league you certainly are not out of mine."

"Third… Well, there really is no thi- Oh wait, I've got Neo! Come on over here please Neo!" Coughing into his fist, Roman gestured to the petite girl who'd just crossed her arms and deigned to stay behind him. "Say 'Hi' why don't you Neo?"

With that the little woman walked forwards, strutting forwards confidently before twirling her parasol in the same way Roman moved his cane earlier. It seemed as though the entire person was themed after neapolitan ice cream, the white brown and pink being a recurring theme throughout her outfit.

She was actually pretty hot if you'd allow Jaune to say so, but considering she was on the darkside, them getting together was unlikely.

She was small, about four foot ten, so one foot below Jaune himself with some pink brown and white hair on the top of her head going down to around her shoulders in length. The complexion was pale white, and with her nice face and cocky smirk one could see why most people would probably fall for her upon meeting her.

She was beautiful, _and_ cute! Something which is normally only found in girls like Ruby Rose!

"Well, she won't actually _say_ 'Hi', but trust me when I say that you'll hear it if she does." He said before grinning self assuredly and gesturing around. Pointing towards the three Bullheads all coming down on the containers in sync, Roman didn't quite realize what was going on behind the scenes. "So here we are. We've got you at gunpoint, we've got our containers, and it seems like two of you can't fight now can you?"

The man let out a little laugh, making his White Fang fellows all look at each other for a brief second. "Why, I think we should be asking you what you're doing here shouldn't we? You can't stop us."

Reaching his remaining hand into his pocket while the electromagnets set up over the crates, Jaune took out the detonator. Time to play chicken. A very dangerous, explosive game of chicken in which it could end with deaths of at least a hundred people.

"Well, I don't think that's quite true now is it?" Jaune said, flipping over the cap on the button. Now exposed to the world, the little red button hooked up to the C4 would be used not as a last resort, no, but as a bargaining device of sorts. "I press this the entire place blows sky high."

Torchwick laughed. That's right, he just _laughed_ at the thought of being turned into a big bloody mess. What a maniac.

"Hahaha! Ahhh… Oh man kiddo, that's really cute. Do you seriously think that I'd come here without being ready for the worst?" Roman said before twirling his cane again and walking up near Neo. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Jaune could see that Blake and Ren had just arrived out of an alleyway behind them. "You want to know the difference between you and me?"

Jaune shook his head. He knew the difference. It was obvious, glaring, and Jaune knew that if Torchwick knew everything simply had to rest on the one last part of the plan. The impromptu plan sure, since Jaune hadn't expected Torchwick himself to arrive, but a plan nonetheless.

"I can get out of this fast enough to avoid the explosion, whereas you can't." Jaune raised an eyebrow at that. Well, _that_ hadn't quite been what he was expecting. But, _how_ would he get out?

"Not to mention that if one of these psychopathic White Fang operatives had said that I would've believed it." He said before taking out a cigar and lighting it. No one dared move, so they watched as he took a puff and finished. "But you? Nah. I don't think someone like you would blow your friends sky high."

Jaune's finger descended on the button. "Oh yeah? Try me and my friends. They'll know why I'm doing what I'm doing."

Crossing his arms and holding his cane still, Roman simply gave off a laugh without somehow dropping the cigarette. "Well too bad kid, you won't even get the chance. We've been stalling the whole time."

"I know." That made Roman stop laughing before he scowled.

"A real man would've tried to do something about it. Like rant on about the 'powers of girly friendship yada yada' or something." Roman said his voice going at least four pitches higher when saying 'powers of girly friendship'. "Or hell, one of them would've even attacked me!"

"I know." Jaune said, his finger descending on the button. It was there now, a centimeter away, and he focussed immeasurably hard to make sure he didn't detonate it on purpose. Roman's eyes narrowed, and Neo looked around.

The Bullheads just had their grasp on the containers and were lifting, slowly due to the weight, but they were indeed. Neo noticed this and her eyes narrowed, pointing to them. Ah, she'd finally noticed.

Jaune smirked. "I think the one who's outnumbered is you."

"OVERWATCH FIRE!" Ducking and turning Jaune kicked Yang's legs out from under her and wrapped his arm around Weiss' waist pulling her down below him before sniper fire rained down on them and bullets filled the spot in which they were just standing.

The White Fang fell like trees cut at the base, being shot, then shocked, and then crumpling to the ground as each of them looked for where the shots were coming from only for one of them to get shot after the other.

Roman looked around before raising his cane and pressing a button on the bottom side. A crosshair sprung up, and he lined up the shots on where him, Cardin, Weiss and Yang were all prone on the ground.

Swinging in from the Bullhead behind him's engines, Blake flew in on her ribbon kicking him in the back of the head and causing the shot to go wild before she landed and turned engaging with Torchwick in a close range fight.

Raising himself while Neo ran for the containers to the side, Jaune used his left hand to get his blade out. Switching on the electrical dust in the hilt, Jaune watched as it crackled to life, and Yang rolled to her feet jumping in beside Blake to double team Torchwick.

Weiss was picked up by Cardin and was carried about ten feet away before Cardin started tanking whatever bullets were still flying in their direction. He was deflecting them with his mace only thanks to the predicted trajectory of the bullets thanks to his own version of Jaune's 'time slowing' technique.

Using his semblance to cause his sword, now infused and crackling with lightning across the edge, to break its links and turn into its whip form. Raising it over his head, he continued generating current before watching as it flew down the Hihiirokane of his blade and off the tip.

Crackling as the lightning shot off, he watched as Weiss' flew at the same moment, propelled onwards and magnified by the glyph before there was a loud noise.

"Woooooo!" Nora came bounding across the containers, her normally turquoise eyes shining a deadly and powerful electric blue even as she charged across them. The blue lightning came off of her eyes, bleeding into her aura even as she ran, before she reached the end of the containers and jumped.

Slamming right into the centermost Bullhead, Nora crushed right through it, hammer in hand before jumping off that one and reaching in and pulling the pilot out. Yanking her arm back, she threw him, and Jaune heard him scream as he sailed overhead and into the water at least a hundred feet away.

Turning back around at the last escaping Bullhead, Nora cocked her arm back again and threw the hammer with all her might behind it, the grenades already exposed and flying onwards. Slamming into the engine of the Bullhead, the hammer exploded causing it to fall in a fiery carcass.

As it did so however, the containers too fell, and Nora jumped off of her Bullhead, rolling along the concrete still oozing power and electricity before she landed underneath the container which was generating more force than a semi-truck barrelling down the street.

Catching it under her, Jaune heard her scream something about lifting with her back and not her legs before she finally made her way out from under it and let it drop the remaining five feet. That one had been the only one high enough to actually explode on contact, and now that all of the Bullheads were out of commission and gone, they had nothing to worry about.

His heart was pounding in his ears, but Jaune was still able to generally able to still catch Weiss before she collapsed and Cardin leapt towards Torchwick where he'd been getting backup from the apparent Neopolitan figure.

Holding Weiss in his arms, Jaune gently put her down on the ground, taking off his coat with the one arm before crumpling it up and putting it under her head. Jogging over to Torchwick and Neo as they fought with Yang, Blake and Cardin, he noted several faults with Cardin's form.

Oh well, the sloppiness was tolerable just this once.

Stepping forwards, Jaune looked at Torchwick as they all stopped. Raising his hand, Jaune crushed the detonator in it after destroying the signal sender with his semblance. "Now, get out of here Torchwick, and find a new profession." Jaune said attempting a growl which just came out lame.

Though, it appeared to have at least a bit of an effect. It's been a long night, he's cold, he's missing one arm, and Weiss is covered in blood, and you _know_ how hard that shit is to wash out of her white dress!

Looking back at Neo, Roman got a nod in return before Neo walked in front of them, opened the parasol, and twirled it before they disappeared with the sound of shattering glass. A noise quickly replacing that was the sound of sirens in the distance as they came towards the docks.

Sighing, Jaune sat down on the ground, barely paying attention when anyone called his name. He was just tired. Tired, drained, and tired. That's right, tired to the point he said tired twice.

It's been a long couple of days after all.

Yes, things hadn't quite gone according to plan, as they didn't catch who was doing it really, and they didn't yet _know_ who was behind all of it in the first place. Not to mention that there'd been several people hurt, albeit with very healable and dealable with injuries. Though, Blake didn't manage to get her armor on time… Seems as though the R &D lab couldn't quite get it out fast enough.

Oh well. At least Blake got her closure.

That much he could tell from the smile which appeared once the scowl at his condition disappeared, and she sunk to her knees bringing him into a hug. He couldn't do much to hug back with one arm, but did so anyways feeling her warm body against his even as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Things could've gone worse.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"Ugh, stop…" Jaune groaned out, pushing his foot in the general direction of whoever it was that was yanking on his covers. Yanking them back, Jaune felt a bunch of resistance before sighing and opening his eyes.

Seeing Blake's face was, admittedly, not the worst way to wake up in the morning. Looking upwards, Jaune raised his eyebrow before rubbing his face with his hands. He'd gotten his spare arm back from his locker the night before when they'd left.

"Need something Blake?" He asked, yawning at the end before sitting up. Sighing, Jaune saw that she was already in her full uniform for the day. Today was Monday? Right? Probably… Sighing when she grabbed onto his hand and tugged him up, Jaune was intrigued.

Blake? Being pushy?

Slipping on his slippers once they were by the door, Jaune took a second to smile towards the sleeping forms of yang and Ruby in their beds before he and Blake slipped out into the hallway. Following her in silence, Jaune figured any questions could wait until they were out where they needed to be.

Opening the door to the roof, Blake watched as Jaune groaned. What? He was only wearing his pajamas for Pete's sake, and it's cold! Ahhh! What he does for these girls. Stepping out and walking up the stairs before pushing open the fire door and stepping out, Jaune held it over for Blake to insure she would be out there with him.

Couldn't have her lock him out as a prank now could he?

Walking over to the edge in which he pitched the terrible plan the White Fang had made so many days ago, Blake turned towards him before making a 'come here' gesture with her hand. Walking over, Jaune stood in front of her.

"Need something Blake?" Jaune said, turning on the internal heaters for his arms. That was always a nice feature.

She looked up at him, her amber eyes flicking across his face while her bow twitched. Still wearing it he could see, oh well. Things like that would still take time. "I know what the entire docks thing was about."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her direction. Did she? Ha, it's unlikely. "What do you mean? We were stopping terrorists, what else is there?"

Blake punched him lightly in the shoulder making him fake wince before she looked up at him with a sigh and a pair of rolled eyes. "I know why you made us go to the docks when you just could've called someone like Ozpin."

Jaune shrugged. "I felt as though we were the best equipped to deal with the situation."

Blake poked him in the chest, but it wasn't in an angry way. Just a way to say 'Hey! Stop it!'. "Jaune, just because I'm not as smart as you doesn't mean I can be played as a fool."

Sighing, Jaune put his hands on her shoulders. He wished he could've felt the soft uniform, and her even softer skin beneath it but instead just settled to rub her shoulders for a few seconds before keeping his hands there. "What do you want me to say? All I wanted is for you to be happy Blake. To find closure."

It was Blake's turn to shrug now, letting his hands fall off of her shoulders before she continued talking. "I know. I just wanted to do something, as a way of saying thanks."

"Alright, just know that if it's ridiculous, stupid, or ruins your public image that you don't have to do it okay? I mean, really I'm not all that high maintenance." Jaune said getting her to laugh, albeit a small one.

"Hush! Now close your eyes knave!" Blake said before closing his eyes for him, her soft hands and fingers trailing across his face. Feeling it was nice, therapeutic even. It was scientifically proven that someone stroking your-

Any thought Jaune might've been thinking just turned into a warm mush of rainbows and stars when he felt Blake's hands wrap around the backside of his neck, and her pull herself upwards onto her tippietoes.

Feeling her close in on him, he felt her warm breath tingle across his lips before Jaune went the last inch or so himself, capturing her lips in his, feeling the soft feeling of her peach flavoured lips against his own.

His mind began cranking once more, the thought centers going into overdrive before settling down and letting him focus on his breathing. Feeling her push herself deeper into it, Jaune moved his hands around her waist, pressing them to the small of her back and pushing her closer into him.

They stood like this for what could've been forever and he wouldn't have cared. Feeling her warm body pressed against his slowly recede back, Jaune shivered at the cold on his legs from the lack of actual pants.

Keeping his hands on her waist, and pushed against her back, Jaune held Blake against his chest before putting his chin on her hair, resting it in between where her two ears would be. Wrapping her hands around his chest, Blake pressed the side of her now red face against his chest also.

"Am I some sort of oblivious idiot Blake?" Jaune asked, finally breaking the nice silence of the morning with his question. God, he felt like such an idiot! How could he be that oblivious! It was so obvious in hindsight! The odd behaviour, the respect, the fact that she was always a bit closer than she was before!

How had he not noticed!?

Blake laughed, her smaller body shaking in his arms even as she held him and sighed against his chest. "Yeah."

"Am I your oblivious idiot Blake?" He asked, knowing generally what the answer would hopefully be, even if in theory another answer he isn't expecting could come. The second being the one her feared of course.

"You're my oblivious idiot, Jaune." She said before pulling herself upwards and kissing him one more time, a short and sweet one.

"And you're my little kitten, Blake." He said before pushing himself downwards and kissing her one more time, a short and sweet one.

Hopefully, things would turn out okay. Even with the White Fang still out there, and with a storm on the horizon, just maybe things would turn out okay.

Yet, even if they didn't turn out okay, Jaune would be there, with Blake, until the end.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Done! Not the story I assure you, just the chapter! Please, leave as many reviews as possible. I wrote a lot of action this chapter, but even then some of the Torchwick stuff felt a bit odd, so please let me know what you think about this.

Also: WOO! FUCK YEAH! KNIGHTSHADE!

Anyways, this came out late, and 'Criminal Mastermind!' comes out tomorrow since my room is being painted today, and I can't do anything. Not to mention I have two essays due Tuesday that I should've started like, yesterday, and other homework as well.

Anyways, I'm just going to leave. Have a nice day ladies and gents.

 **Review Responses:**

 **desdelor97:** you have no idea what I have planned for Oscar/Jaune dynamics. My god, they'll be there.

 **darky33916:** Thanks man! I'll keep it in mind, though I've got real life friends (surprising eh?) and a clan to play with too.

 **anand891996:** True enough, but it would be faster to blow up the docks than to contact the authorities and _then_ blow it up right? Yeah, but they still have plastic trays don't they? I mean, right? Probably? Meaning that there must be some sort of petrol.

 **WyattaMoore:** I use those call signs in real life, don't judge me man!  
 **DuplicateUserName:** Haha, I use them in P.E for real life man, now people call me 'MANGO!' sometimes.

 **1st Dragon King:** Haha, thanks man. Planning to do that with a Coeur story right now.

 **alrickit:** We'll never really know the story for Mozambique will we? Also, the armor didn't get made on time, something I was going to go over next chapter but briefly brought up this chapter.

 **Shyangel13:** Fun fact: I've once had pizza stolen out of my hands from a seagull.

 **Guest:** Woo! I've already got 100 hours! (FML)

 **Lordrednight:** Haha, FUCK NO PUNS. Why does my fan base punish me so?

Anyways, I'm out. See you ladies and gents! Thanks to Paramore for making the not-shit music I listen to while writing these! You hear them before? They're not too bad! I swear!

-DragonManMax


	15. Chapter 13

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note:** You know, despite the fact that I can _actually_ have excuses as to why I haven't updated this for so long, I don't think I'm going to excuse myself. At the very least I could have written a note to say what's been going on.

Life. That's what.

So, here I am, typing this out far too late. Updates should be more frequent now that I know how to proceed, and have made a bit more time in my schedule for doing this sort of thing.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter XIII**

* * *

There was the gentle noise of paper against paper as the pages flipped. Coming to rest against its brethren, the page stopped its movement as a pair of amber eyes quietly scanned across it, from left to right.

Scribbling against his sheet of paper, Jaune went from left to right, writing an complete assortment of jumbled characters and letters which to anyone else would've been just incoherent nonsense. Factoring in the numbers though? Then it was code.

Done with that page, he flipped it over smacking it back to the table with his palm. Moving back to the top left he continued onwards until the entire backside itself was completely done in it's squiggles.

Taking another sheet of paper out of the pile beside him, Jaune was about to continue before he saw a flicker of movement. Glancing upwards, he saw his girlfriend had put down her book and was now raising a question.

"Jaune, are we weird?"

Taking in a breath, he tilted his head to the side. Gathering up his various papers, he used the table to line them up before placing them back onto the table and clasping his hands. "What is the context of the question?"

Blake's eyebrow raised at that. "Context?"

"Well yes." Jaune said waving one of his hands. "By saying 'we' you could mean plenty of things. You could mean 'are girls weird' or 'are girls weird in comparison to men' or, you could mean 'are faunus weird' or 'are faunus weird in comparison to humans'. Of course, you could also mean 'are hunters weird compared to regular civilians'. Then again, technically you could also be meaning 'are we weird' in the sense that our entire generation might be weird or odd in comparison to all of those before."

Finishing, Jaune clasped his hands again and straightened his head before looking back at her. "So, what would be the context of the question?"

Opening her mouth as though to speak, Blake shut it quickly before thinking a moment. Seemingly feeling more confident with what she was about to say, she continued. "I mean _us_. You and me."

"As partners, as friends, or as a couple?" Jaune said leaning forwards onto the table some more. Resting his elbows onto the nice table of the library, Jaune steepled his fingers in a way which wasn't covering his girlfriend's face.

"As a couple." The ravenette said as she put her book into her bag for good, forgotten as the current conversation took further priority.

"Are we weird? Normal couples would be sitting right beside each other, cuddling or doing something like that." She said before blushing and avoiding his gaze. "Don't misunderstand, I realize that we are not and likely never will be 'normal', but aren't we still a bit strange?"

Smiling at her Jaune reached his hands over the table and took hers. Careful not to break her much more delicate hands in his mechanical ones, he entwined his fingers with hers. "Blake. We are in no way strange."

Making eye contact again, Blake continued with her questioning. "How do you know though? It's not like either of us have _really_ done this before have we?"

At that Jaune threw his head back with a laugh. "You're right about that Blake, what with me being too dense, too emotionally insensitive, and too unapproachable from the standpoint of most girls I haven't had much practice. Though to be fair, your old boyfriend was a psychopath who didn't appreciate you so, I'm not too sure which one of us knows less about this."

Thinking for a second, Jaune nodded. "No actually... I think you know less. What with your books corrupting your thoughts of real relationships and the like!"

Taking her hands from his and playfully hitting him in the wrist only to wince as her knuckles wrapped against the cold metal, Blake scowled. "They're not smut."

"I never implied they were Blake, just said that they were corrupting you." Jaune said before grinning in her direction. Ah, so they _were_ smut! He'd been to afraid to look up the title in fear of the government taking him in. "The only person implying they're smut is you."

"They're not though…" She mumbled before sighing. Looking back up at him with a little smile, she seemed in need of some sort of feel good speech of a sort. Or rather, a speech of reassurance rather than a feel good speech.

"Listen Blake, we're in no way weird. You want to know why?" Jaune said? Seeing her not nod, but not shake her head, he took it as a que to continue. "Couples who are cuddling all the time, or always right beside each other, do it for a couple reason. One of them is that they're both insecure of the relationship and wanting to do anything they can to strengthen it. Another is that they're actually truly and completely in love, and unable to keep their hands off of each other. There are many more I'm sure, but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment."

"We, unlike them, are naturally awkward when it comes to public displays of affection. In the dorm room we sit together like that all the time, just not in public. Not to mention that we don't feel insecure about our relationship, and know that we're both unlikely to find someone as great as the other." He said before looking in her general direction. "You, like to read. That much is obvious considering how much you do it."

Taking a breath before continuing Jaune just kept the facts coming. "The fact that you can read in front of people like our friends, or me, means that you're comfortable and feeling safe to the point that you feel you can lower your guard. That's _you_ trusting _me_ and being comfortable in my presence."

" _I_ meanwhile don't have to worry about any really scathing comments about pretty much everything while you're around, except for the sarcastic snippy ones you make sometimes. I'm comfortable around you Blake, and that's all that's really needed to show we love one another." Jaune said before tucking his work into his bag and looking back up towards the cat faunus' face.

"Does that answer your question? At least a little bit?"

"Yes. I think it does at least." Nodding at him, Blake stood up, arching her back out like the cat side of her. "Thank you, by the way. Now let's go, dinner's in a couple minutes."

Grabbing his papers and tucking them into his bag, Jaune stood up before cracking his neck.

Seeing her shiver in response, he followed her through the library before eventually catching up at her side. Not bothering to look around, Jaune took ahold of her hand careful not to grab it harshly. While he couldn't feel, Jaune knew that she had squeezed it back.

Pulling her towards him, he felt her gasp in surprise before he wrapped his arms around her waist. Pulling her closer even as she relaxed into his embrace, Jaune moved his mouth over to her ear.

"I know I may not be the greatest at showing it, but just because I'm not flamboyant about it doesn't mean I don't love you Blake." Moving back he kissed her on the lips, moving his against hers as she reciprocated the action gladly.

Finishing a couple seconds later they pulled apart with his hand in hers. Moving her head under his chin, she was basically talking into his chest, but he noticed her red face. "I love you too."

Hearing an angry noise noise behind them, Jaune turned his head over his shoulder, seeing a red faced librarian standing there doing her best to shush them despite her flustered demeanor.

They laughed about it seconds after leaving the library.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Arriving at dinner, Jaune made his way to the table. Tossing his bag under the table he slid onto the bench next to Ruby gently nudging her with his shoulder. "How's it going?"

Ruby let loose an explosive groan before letting the pencil drop out of her hand and onto her papers. Strewn about her, Jaune caught something about weapons and just dismissed it as her elective work. "It's going okay, there's just so _much_ I have to know!"

Nodding, Jaune looked over her stuff taking a look at some of her hand drawn notes. Despite her sister's atrocious handwriting, his leader's writing was pretty legible. "I mean, I get that I skipped two grades but I was smart back in Signal!"

Jaune shook his head with a smile memorizing the notes for her before tucking them back onto the table as she massaged her wrist. "You're still smart Ruby. You've just gotta remember that your other classmates have done another two years of studying than you have."

Rolling her silver eyes Ruby was about to respond before Jaune interrupted. "While you may indeed be better than most in a combat level, you've yet to surpass us in a theoretical level."

Sighing, Ruby slumped back onto the table and he gave her back a bit of a rub. "Don't worry about it Ruby. Besides, it's weapon designing. While my technical aptitude may be more towards armor and high tech devices, I can still help out if you need it."

She recoiled as though struck and placed a hand on her chest with a gasp. "How dare you! I, the great Ruby Rose will never need assistance wi-"

"Aww, Rubes is giving a speech again is she?" Yang said coming behind her sister. Wrapping her arms around Ruby, she smothered her in her rather sizable cleavage. Vaguely, Jaune noticed Ruby's hand tapping onto Yang's arm.

Was that morse code?

"Uhh Yang, I believe 'the great Ruby Rose' requires assistance." Jaune said with a finger point upwards. Looking down, Yang saw her sister going purple in the face and let go with a guilty 'meep' as the younger girl gasped for air on the table.

"Thank you Jaune." Ruby said once she'd regained her breaths before shooting a quick glare at her sister. Shrugging it off, Yang just went and sat on the other side of Ruby where she'd deposited her tray of food.

"No problem, oh great Ruby Rose." He said getting a giggle back as he laughed. Man, his team has been getting along a lot better now that the docks were taken care of. "Couldn't have our commander in chief being killed in such an embarrassing way could we?"

Things like that? That's what had been changing since the docks.

Since then, Jaune's deigned to take more of a back seat in the general going ons of his team. While yes, his opinion and advice was oftentimes taken into an account and valued, no longer did he take charge when it was really Ruby's job to do so.

Thus, the subliminal messaging began.

Whereas before he'd always just call her 'Ruby', as was her given name, now he sometimes called her 'our leader' when talking about her, or the like. Mainly because if done around her, it would accumulate overtime through her subconscious that she should be acting more leader like.

He liked to think that it was working.

At least, that's what the data seemed to be suggesting. Lately she's started putting more work into her studies, taking combat class more seriously, actually deciding what they would be doing for a weekend or at what time they did whatever.

While sure, she was a bit of a dictator when it came to what cookies in the room (every and all cookies bar for oatmeal raisin cookies are hers in every and all rooms anywhere), she was actually stepping up.

So, phase two of his 'make our team the greatest' plan has been doing great!

Hearing her heels coming closer, Jaune turned right and whisked his tray out of Blake's waiting hands even before she had a chance to say something. "Thanks Blake."

Nodding and sitting down beside him, Blake began digging into her own meal. Now that she's been found out as a cat faunus it seems as though they've been consisting of far more fish than what most people would find normal.

Or healthy for that matter. But oh well, if she wanted her tuna she could have it.

"Wow Jaune, making your girlfriend get your food for you? What, does she slice the crust off of your toast too?" Yang teased from her spot down the line, taking a break from her make out session with the juicy steak she'd picked up.

Nodding and giving a cheeky smile, Jaune responded. "I'm sure if I liked toast she wouldn't mind."

"I would." Blake said looking up from her book to give Yang and Jaune an somewhat bemused look before returning back to her 'artful literature'. "Any man who can't cut his own crust isn't worthy of me."

Laughing, Jaune turned to and shot a finger over his shoulder at his girlfriend. "Since ancient times cats have been worshipped as gods in some places. Seems like one of them never forgot that."

Blake smirked while Ruby gave a giggle. "Don't you forget it peasant."

Putting a hand up to his chest Jaune acted as though he'd just been hit in the gut. "Wow, calling the cripple a peasant? How godly of you!"

Whereas Jaune had been expecting some sort of laughter from the team at his display, his was dismayed when he realized none was coming. Looking around at them he noticed their downcast eyes before they looked back up to him, quick enough so that it seemed like it didn't happen.

Almost.

"What? Can't a guy make fun of his own lack of arms?" Jaune said before looking around and seeing Yang sigh. Blake meanwhile was tucking away her book, and even _Ruby_ looked uncomfortable! "Sheesh, you guys need to lighten up! It's no big deal anymore."

Yang's mouth pulled back even as she put down her cutlery. "It's not that Jaune… It's just that you really shouldn't be making fun of yourself like that. It can't be good for you."

"I for one agree with Yang." Blake said before putting a hand onto his shoulder and rubbing it. Turning to her he raised his eyebrow. "I know that you're okay with it, but we might never be okay with treating it like it's a joke."

Sighing Jaune pursed his lips. "It's been duly noted and I don't think it'll happen again. At least, not while you guys feel uncomfortable with it. Is that fine? Or do I need to sign something anywhere?"

Finally getting a laugh back from Ruby as she began gathering up all of her papers, Jaune continued. "But seriously, these arms are arguably better than all of yours combined."

Raising a well maintained eyebrow at that Yang raised her left arm and flexed, showing off the muscle which could easily crush a car in its grasp. Acting as though it was nothing, she just continued eating with her right hand. "I doubt it, these guns could outdo yours any day."

"Pssh, don't even bother Yang!" Jaune said before almost flexing. Of course, that would be hard since there was technically no muscle to flex. "My arms could break yours like twigs, be thrust into boiling hot water without a care, set on fire, sliced off, and have a flamethrower, hidden blades, as well as a literal deck of cards hidden inside."

Opening his hand Jaune watched as the entire deck of cards fluttered into his hand. Shuffling them with some preprogrammed dexterity, Jaune tossed them into the air and into his other hand neatly before tucking them away again.

"One could say you always have a trick up your sleeve!" Yang said getting a groan from Ruby and Blake. Jaune meanwhile gave a low chuckle before waving over Weiss who was across the way.

"Well, I'm going to get some cookies!" Ruby said leaving her binder and bag at the table before shooting off in a flurry of rose petals. Man, the custodians of Beacon must really hate her, leaving that mess every time she did something like that.

"And some veggies! Please!" The only other blonde at the table said before sighing and giving up. Cracking her knuckles after putting down her silverware, she shook her head. "She's got to learn to eat healthier! Eventually those cookies will go straight to the hips!"

Jaune laughed at that while Blake rolled her eyes with a little smile. Arriving seconds later, Weiss sat down across the table from them. "I for one think that you could also be losing some weight Yang."

Whipping her head around so fast Jaune caught some of her long hair in his face, Yang's fist came onto the table with a vengeance. "You trying to say I'm fat ice queen?"

The heiress rolled her eyes while Yang retracted her hand. "Don't be ridiculous Yang, I'm not _trying_. I just did. Though, despite your large appetite and laziness, your figure is still impeccable."

Yang's lip quivered as she turned to Jaune, fake sorrow on her face. "B-but she's lying! She's got to be! I-I'm not fat right Jaune?"

"No Yang, you're not fat in the slightest." He said nodding before tilting his head for a second and poking her upper arm. "Just pleasantly squishy."

"Is that another way of calling me chubby pretty boy?" Yang said her eyes blazing while Jaune quickly retracted his hand lest he lose it. Shaking his head, he made sure to make it clear that _no_ , it was _not_ a way of calling her chubby.

Hell, with her hourglass figure and fantastic proportions Yang could go and be a supermodel if being a huntress didn't work out!

"Nope."

"Ah Jaune, here's the notes you wanted." Reaching into her bag, Weiss withdrew some papers before handing them to him over his soup. Letting the cold metal of his fingers brush against hers as he took the papers from him, he offered her a thankful smile.

"Thanks Weiss, you're the best." Jaune said before cringing and resisting the urge to scream. Moving his right leg slightly sideways he felt the pointy part of Blake's heels. "I mean, you're the _best_ , but Blake is the _best?_ "

Narrowing her eyes at first his strange face, then at his strange comment, Weiss took in a breath before having a couple mouthfuls of soup. Waiting for Ruby to come back, Jaune raised his eyebrow as he looked around. "By the way, where's the rest of your team?"

Weiss put the spoon down letting her elegant pink lips leave it before answering. "Nora is out hunting for something or other, and Ren accompanied her as he does. Pyrrha is just in line grabbing food."

"Didn't you guys come in together?" Jaune asked before she shook her head.

"We did, but she used the bathroom while I was getting in line, so she'll be here in a minute or two." Weiss aid before going back to her soup. Done with their dishes, Yang and Blake pushed them forwards. Seeing Ruby just starting to head back, Jaune took their dishes and stacked them on top of his own.

"I got it guys, just relax." Despite neither of them being stressed in the first place, he said the line if only to say something. Walking away with the stride of an experienced waiter (yet another one of the many skills he's acquired in Mozambique) Jaune turned around someone only to stumble and almost crash into someone.

Swerving away he teetered one one foot, halfway forwards before leaning back and straightening. Apparently the yelp he'd let go while falling hadn't gone unnoticed by the almost receiver of a set of dishes.

Lowering her sunglasses, the brunette's hazel coloured eyes seemed to sparkle before narrowing onto him. She was dressed in an oddly working ensemble of a cocoa colour and some black, as well as the occasional golden accessory.

"Well excuse me, but I believe that spilling those on me would be a bad idea." The girl said her voice coming out confidently before she smacked someone sitting at a nearby table on the head. "Fox, look at this."

Raising an eyebrow at her, Jaune was about to question her before there was a bright flash in his face and he started blinking to clear the bright light from INVADING HIS FUCKING MIND.

Putting her scroll back down the girl gestured towards all of Jaune. "You see him Fox? He could be _so_ much more, yet even then he seems better at it than you."

"Coco, I can't really see much." Having now turned towards Jaune, the now named Fox appeared to be glancing in his general direction. Taking in the milkiness of his eyes, Jaune figured he was blind.

"Well, just know that even in a uniform he's more fashion forwards than you are." The fashionista said before smacking Jaune on the butt causing him to yelp and continue onwards. Hearing her talking about something from behind him, Jaune had only one _real_ thought on his mind.

' _God, I hope Blake didn't see that.'_

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented** **~o0o~**

* * *

Arriving back in the room, Jaune held the door open for the various ladies living there before walking in himself. Tossing his bag under his desk, he calculated it's velocity perfectly and it slid under quietly and professionally.

Yang tried throwing hers onto her bedside table, only for it to slide and rip a lamp as well as its power cord out of the wall and out the window as it fell. Lunging forwards, Ruby appeared there seconds later half hanging out of the window.

Had she not been wearing one of those ridiculous (ridiculously inconvenient) combat skirts, he would've gotten a panty shot. It almost would've been like a moment out of one of his animes!

Rushing forwards, Jaune reached forwards and caught her by the scruff of her outfit before pulling her back in the window. Stumbling before giggling, Ruby tossed Yang's bag back to her. "Thanks Jaune!"

"No problem Ruby. I mean, I can't have our fearless leader falling out of a window. That would be the tragic death of one of my favourite people." Jaune said before reaching up and scratching his chin. "Well, the extra cookies would be ni-"

Shaking her head Ruby's red and black hair swished back and forth. "That's cold Jaune. That's cold."

He shrugged before heading over to his desk. "Meh, cookies aren't even that great anyways."

Pulling open his book while Ruby collapsed and was caught by Yang, Jaune took out Weiss' notes before putting them onto the desk. Laying everything out neatly and so that he could see it all when he needed it, Jaune pulled out his chair.

Sitting down and pushing himself in, Jaune took out his scroll while they all went to do their various own things. Putting it onto the desk, he withdrew the pen that they sold as an additional add on before getting to work.

' _It needs a long blade. To the point in which it's long as my current one, yet can be longer. I can hopefully achieve this by using the same micro fractures that the original had… Of course, if I was to divide it into collapsible segments which grow more dense the shorter the blade, then I could probably go twice as long in a matter of seconds.'_

Starting with a long, flat edge, Jaune started the designs of his new blade.

It would be a new style, something which he really should've been using in the first place. His current katana just wasn't cutting it. Crocea Mors, the ancient family blade destroyed in the same tragedy which took his arms would most certainly be better, more reliable, and fit him like a well work glove.

Though, seeing as the sword was destroyed, and gloves are generally pointless for robotic arms, it's unlikely Crocea Mors would be coming back. So, he would make a new Crocea Mors.

It would be better in every way. While he hasn't enlisted Ruby yet, he would. His entire new set of gear would be put together by some of the smartest most brilliant young hunters in the business.

Jaune Arc, a certified genius and one of the most well resourced men in Remnant. Ruby Rose, a weapons prodigy of epic proportions. Weiss Schnee, heiress and arguably one of the most well versed people in the world on dust chemistry. Pyrrha Nikos, champion of Mistral, who understands what a weapon _needs_ for fighting grimm and people alike.

It was going to be amazing.

Sadly, he was out of his old lab, meaning that right now he was essentially working with the same computing and imagination power as an old potato hooked up to a cucumber. Of course, it wasn't too bad, but there were things which needed to be simulated, created, forged, in the blood sweat and tears of Jaune Arc.

Tuning out the world, he started with the general specs of the blade. That's what the entire new gear set would be centered around. His sword, his aura, and his semblance. With his high aura, the armor size could be optimized much like it had been for Blake. With his semblance, he had virtually every technological advancement in his pocket and under his control.

With these things taken into consideration, Jaune would know exactly what he'd need to put into both of his arms to create a set of mass destruction and control over the world. He'd know what he'd need to do to survive, and take down his opponents.

Finally finished with most of the specs, or at least, the general length, width, type, and material they would be using, he prepared a small slideshow and exported it to his portable projector. Loading it up, he took out the earbuds before spinning around in his chair and stopping short.

Something… Something wasn't quite right here.

Looking around from right to left, Jaune noticed that he was indeed correct, and nothing was quite the same as it was when he'd turned around to immerse himself in his work. Looking upwards, Jaune saw the ropes above his bed.

' _Well that can't be safe.'_

Seeing that what had before been four beds on the ground was now two beds in the air overtop of two other beds, Jaune realized that they were impromptu bunk beds. Some of his books had apparently been used in holding up what he assumed was Blake's bed overtop of Yang's.

Well, that's a thing.

"Uhh, I was only turned around for a half hour. How did all of you manage this?" He asked. Looking down from her new high perch over the room, Blake shrugged looking away from her book.

"You get pretty into it sometimes, we thought it best not to disturb you." She said before flipping pages, dismissing him. Ah, the cat-is-god complex was kicking in yet again. Ah, yet he still loved her. Gods bless his bleeding heart. "Yang did the heavy lifting and Ruby generally got the ropes together. Though, I'm not sure I want to know why she had so many ropes in her luggage."

Looking up towards Ruby who was draping a large white cloth over top of the ropes, he raised an eyebrow. Finally finished draping it over to create a large tent like structure over her already high up bed, Ruby wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

"I just like ropes. They've got all sorts of uses!" She said before giving a quick ta-da in the general direction of _everything_. "How do you like it Jaune?"

Yang even looked up from where she was laying on her stomach watching something on her scroll to see his response, while Blake simply looked on amused from her perch. He'd be sure to make her feel normal soon enough!

"I mean, it's an efficient use of space and we have much more floor space now, but what are we going to use that space for? Not to mention that if I'm sleeping under that deathtrap Ruby's built I might not survive the night." He said before walking over to Ruby's bed and poking one of the ropes. It shuddered violently but seemed to hold, though that still didn't instill him with very much confidence.

"Aww sure you will! Besides, you could just sleep with Blake!" Yang said wiggling her eyebrows in his general direction. He was sure that if Blake hadn't been directly above her and unable to see, she would've done it towards her too.

Trying to stop his face from going red and mostly succeeding, Jaune shrugged. "If she's okay with it I would certainly not say no. What do you say Blake?"

Shrugging she looked from her book. "If you want. Just remember th-"

"Remember that our combined weight is going to have an higher likelihood of crushing Yang, yeah I already estimated for that. She'll be fine! Her aura _should_ protect her! She'd just need to sleep with one eye open and two hands upwards at all times." He said nodding sagely before looking up at Ruby who threw a pillow at him.

Catching it he fluffed it briefly before tossing it back.

"What I _actually_ meant Jaune was that if you try anything while we're in bed together that i'll castrate you." Blake said before looking down at her boyfriend with an amused smirk at his shocked expression.

Damn, now _that's_ cold.

"Blake, don't you mean _cat_ -strate him?" Yang said before throwing up some jazz hands. Groaning and smacking his metal hand into his face, Jaune heard Blake do something similar while Ruby tilted her head to the side.

"Yang, what does castrate mean?" She asked in that same usual cute way that she did.

"Oh it's nothin-" Yang began but she was quickly shut down by Jaune as he rocketed ahead with his answer. "It means she'd remove my testicles Ruby."

Her mouth moved into a sad 'o' after that and she hurriedly picked up a weapons magazine before going back to reading that with the utmost vigor. Nodding and giving Yang a thumbs up, Jaune felt good, and didn't notice her sigh before she went back to her scroll.

Ah, he's such a good brother figure/boyfriend/brother/son/friend everything.

Walking back to his desk, Jaune stacked his papers back before putting them into one of the drawers. He'd consider locking it, but there's really no point. Absolutely nothing there is one of a kind, and he had Weiss type up those notes so she could always print off more. With his photographic memory, the only thing bad about losing those would be that he'd have to rewrite/retype them up.

Done with that, he took out his scroll and brought up the keyboard. Letting his fingers fly across the glass at high speed, Jaune trusted that they would his every exact character he wanted them to.

Setting it on his lap while he continued coding quickly (not for lack of time, but rather for the practice) Jaune looked upwards towards his team. "So, you guys ready for the field trip tomorrow? Forever Fall is supposed to be pretty nice."

Ruby, apparently having recovered from her realization of what Blake would do to his private square, nodded excitedly. "Yeah! I've seen pictures, and I feel like it'll _actually_ be better in real life than it is in the photos!"

"What do you guys think we'll be doing there anyways?" Yang asked finally putting away her scroll before grabbing a pillow to relax onto. "It's not like we can do much scouting or training with an entire class there."

"Well, I once heard of an ancient culture of the holy Canadian empire, in which there were warriors called _lumberjacks_." Jaune said adding a dramatic flare as well as some jazz hands to the ending there. Intrigued, Yang and Ruby leaned in while Blake's bow twitched. "Armed with great axes, they trained by chopping deep gouges into the mighty oaks of the wilderness, felling the great moose and beavers of the forest."

"Legend has it, they sometimes trained with iron spikes, driving them, tw- No, six feet deep into the trunk of the great maple, extracting a ambrosia blessed by the gods themselves!" Jaune said putting his hand into the air as though reaching for the said gods, before his right hand came up, catching his left by the wrist. "But then they met Nora and ran out of maple syrup."

Blinking twice Yang looked at Jaune. "You know, despite that being anticlimactic, and despite this 'Canada' place seeming like it is impossible, the ending with Nora seems rather likely. Maple syrup is indeed good on pancakes."

"I think you know that a bit too well sis if you catch my drift." Ruby said before laughing at Yang's confused expression. Turning back to her weapons magazine, she continued reading.

Looking up at Jaune with a raised eyebrow Yang's eye twitched before stabilizing. Honestly, he was more afraid of her calm than angry. "Jaune, did she just call me fat? I'm not fat right? Right Jaune? I mean, I am right, right?"

Raising a finger Jaune was about to respond that yes, she was indeed in extremely good shape and very good looking before there was a snort from above and Blake answered for him. "I think she has a point."

"B-but you can't be serious! Do you know how hard it is maintaining this amazing bod when there's such thing as cake?" Yang said sputtering out as her inner fire turned into nothing but embers. Totally slouching, she looked up at Jaune. "At least you think I'm good looking right?"

He nodded. "Of course you're good looking Yang, I'd tell you how much the other guys in class think so, but then I think we'd have to take Ruby to therapy."

Catching two pillows with his face Jaune recoiled catching them before they hit the ground even as his face twitched. He looked up to Ruby incredulously. "I'm fifteen you know! I'm not some sort of little innocent angel girl!"

At that Yang's jaw dropped but Jaune just ignored it to look at Blake who smirked. "While I have no doubt that was the truth Jaune, if I make a joke you're supposed to back me up."

Pursing his lips, Jaune looked up at her. "Sorry if I thought keeping Yang from killing everyone here was more important than going along with a cruel joke!"

"Thank you!" Yang said throwing her hands up.

"Even if it's _kind of_ true." He said with a laugh.

"Hey!"

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Walking out of the bathroom barefoot Jaune walked past his bed and Ruby's while rubbing his eyes. It was probably way too late to be going to bed, but oh well. They had a field trip tomorrow so they were exempt to most classes except for a home room at the end to make sure they hadn't gone off and died.

Something which was probably unlikely.

Done with his coding Jaune had finished it and put it onto a storage device. It was long, complicated, but for the purpose it was built for it should work. While it didn't necessarily have any experience behind it, it was made for the Beacon systems.

He'd just have to trust that it'd liberate the information he needed by the time they got back and he could get rid of it. It would be quick, in and out, without anyone noticing hopefully. As long as the firewall didn't detect or stop it, he should be fine.

Even then, he made sure to leave only one marker in there to identify it as his.

Looking around he noticed that Blake had slipped into the bathroom behind him to change while Yang was already laying in bed on her scroll, sending out some late night text messages to her dad probably. She did that sometimes, and while she always played it off he knew that she would be homesick eventually.

He was.

Walking over to her bed, Jaune stood at the side of it getting her to look up at him. "Need something Jaune?"

"Nope, just want to say: Do not be alarmed." Putting his foot onto her bed, he tested it's strength before standing on there with both legs. Looking towards the wall, he judged the plaster as not strong enough.

"Alarmed about what?"

Looking up, he jumped back while thrusting his arms forwards grabbing onto Blake's bed. Pulling the entire structure over, he clenched his teeth the point it was painful before pulling himself and rolling onto the bed.

Thankfully, Blake wasn't there so he didn't crush her on his way. Noticing how the structure certainly didn't feel safe, he made sure to order in some steel beams to install so that it wouldn't fall down and kill Yang in her sleep.

Pulling the covers over himself, Jaune lay down on his left side as he fluffed up one of Blake's pillows. Done with that, he waited there for her awake, generally just doing some thinking about random things.

Eventually back in the room, Blake climbed up into the bed with far more grace than he had. Opening up the covers for her, he let her climb underneath onto her right side before putting them back down with his arm over her.

Pulling her closer Jaune looked up towards her head. "You're not wearing the bow today."

Blake smiled and wrapped her arms around his chest pulling herself closer as her legs entwined with his. "There's no reason to be wearing the bow. Not in here anyways."

Taking his time to really get a good, up close view of them as Ruby took her sweet time in the bathroom, he noted several things. For one, they were the same deep dark black as her hair, and matched her perfectly. With some pinkish skin on the inside, they were cute little appendages that seemed to move and function almost exactly like a cat's pair of ears. There was also a small tuft of white fur, or was it hair (?) on the inside, only adding to the cuteness as it protected her ear drums.

Placing a kiss on the top of her head in between them, Jaune pulled her close while Ruby exited the bathroom. Smelling in that Blake scent he's come to greatly enjoy he felt her relaxing in his arms, mechanical as they may be. "You're soft and warm."

Blake nodded, which was a real production considering there wasn't much room for that. Looking upwards with her amber eyes she had a small smile. "You're not all that soft but oddly warm."

Whoops, forgot to turn off the internal heaters of his arms. Or rather forgot to factor in the blankets natural heat adding properties when adjusting for the best temperature. Changing it with a quick use of his semblance, Jaune hugged his arms around her waist. "Better?"

"Better."

Looking upwards at the light, he was tempted to destroy it utterly and completely with his semblance before Ruby flicked it off zipping up to her bed in less than a second. There was the sound of rustling covers before she relaxed backwards.

"Goodnight you guys." She said with a cute yawn in the middle, before turning over.

"Goodnight lovebirds." Yang said with a low chuckle from below them, making Blake make a face of disgust.

"Birds. What disgusting creatures." Blake said before pushing her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder, kissing it gently before closing her eyes and resting there against the pillow.

"Twas the night before nondescript holiday, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, th-" Jaune said hearing Blake mumble something about amusing mice in her sleep.

"Jaune, who are you monologuing to?" Yang asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I don't know Yang… I don't know." He said a puzzled expression on his face. Had he been monologuing? He hadn't even noticed… That's awfully strange. Just who had he been monologuing to and why?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** I'm back. It's been a long time, and I'm very sorry, but I'm back, and everything should be much better now. I got way more done today than I thought I would, and I'm feeling fantastic! So please, leave a review, and have a wonderful day!

Next chapter is Forever Fall, something I've been waiting for for a while. It also means that some conversations will be happening which _need_ to happen for the future harem.

Anyways, please, have a wonderful evening, monologue to yourself, listen to great music, leave a review, and live life to its god damn fullest!

 **Review Responses:**

 **desdelor97:** Oh there _must_ be a confrontation between Oscar and Jaune sometime. I swear, if Ruby x Oscar becomes a thing I'll crush the world in my hand.

 **Raidentensho:** God, when Arkos fans say they won't read this any longer just because there's no Pyrrha x Jaune it hurts man. Why can't they be open to things like Knightshade? Also, yes _and_ no. I guessed a lot of things about Volume 5 correctly when planning this story a year ago, so nothing should really change.

 **alrickit:** What can I say, Mozambique is land of dreams.

 **Random O' Panda:** Yeah, Jaune and Oscar dynamics is me saying Jaune's fist is about to go up his ass. Don't feel sorry about the #friendzoned, it's not like I'm going to tear down the world. (Which I could probably do.)

 **DuplicateUserName:** Indeed! Haha (Shhhh. You may be onto something with Adam  & Jaune's SMRA)

 **anand891996:** Doesn't really matter, it's a short drive to the city from the docks with the crate. Plastic explosives are less likely to explode on accident than dust ones, which is why he was using plastic. Otherwise one stray bullet could vaporize them.

 **1st Dragon King:** I too am behind in reading ;-;

 **surviversp:** Thank you! Too bad it seems like Knightshade won't ever be canon. Stupid Sun, and Illia.

 **Atheist god:** No idea what the Budapesta jokes were from Marvel, but yeah I can imagine it being the same. I'm never upset about Marvel comparisons, I love Marvel.

 **Psp reader:** You clever bastard you :P

 **Guest:** Indeed! Most canon pairings are angst filled, or lame, or FUCKING SUN.

Well, enough of me going on far too long. Finished this with fifteen minutes to spare, a month late. Forgive me gents and ladies. Hopefully this gets some new blood into here though!

-DragonManMax


	16. Chapter 14

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note:** Sorry about no Christmas chapter, ended up typing more than usual for the other two stories though! More smut to come this weekend hopefully, and another chapter of my new story: 'One King To Rule Them All'.

In a medieval setting Jaune becomes the king, and needs to navigate politics, war, and love to become the greatest king that ever was! So far, the reaction is positive. Now that I'm done with the shameless self promoting, let's get typing shall we?

Merry Christmas, late as it is ladies and gentlemen.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter XIV**

* * *

Jaune woke up, blinking to clear his eyes and become more alert before looking around the room. He would've attempted to stretch his arms out of human habit before something stopped him. Looking down, he saw Blake laying there, looking comfortable as she made out with her pillow, her slim arms wrapped around his chest.

Sighing and relaxing back into the mattress, he attempted to look over at the time before giving up. No real point potentially waking them too early for nothing. Today was their trip to Forever Fall, meaning that there was no real need to get ready for classes.

That was a good thing.

Smiling, Jaune fluffed up his pillow some more before wrapping his arms around Blake's waist and pulling her close. Getting a noise of contentedness from her, Jaune took it as a good sign, letting them lay there for a while as he contemplated the mysteries of the universe.

Might as well be productive while waiting for everyone else to get up.

' _Today, the plan is simple. Get ready, grab everything, fake forget something, head back, insert the stick, take out the stick, leave. I should be able to make it back in time for the trip, and I should be able to get absolutely everything I need by the evening.'_

Hearing a noise from someplace generally below him, he looked down before noticing Blake looking up at him. One of her ears twitched, the black appendage flicking him in the chin. "Good morning."

"Good morning yourself." He responded with a smile as she took her arm out from beneath him, rubbing it gently. Must've gone numb, what with having someone like him basically sleep on it the entire night.

"You sleep well?" He asked, continuing their conversation quietly so as to not wake up any of the room's other inhabitants. It would be a _very_ bad thing to wake up Yang when she was _able_ to sleep in.

Nuzzling into him, she hummed quietly, though it might've been a purr. He hasn't gotten to the point in which he could tell the difference yet. "Better than usual, feel better than usual too."

"Well, I'm not _usually_ in your bed am I?" Jaune asked smiling as she did, before Blake moved upwards capturing his lips in hers. Pressing his mouth as close as he could go, Jaune's arms around her waist tightened, even as she deepened the kiss opening her mouth slightly. Letting her warm breath run over his teeth, a shudder traced down his spine.

Opening his own mouth, Jaune slipped his tongue from his jaw, gently prodding into her mouth which she accepted nicely. Running his tongue over her own, he took time to feel the unique texture as she ran her hands through his hair.

Her tongue was a unique feeling as it curled around his own, with a huge amount of immensely small hooks, like her cat counterparts. Not to say it wasn't a nice feeling of course. Moaning as Jaune rubbed his hands up and down her back, Blake's fingers traced across his scalp.

Breaking apart breathless, they looked at each other before she smirked in a way that was kittenish in nature. "No, you usually are not. Though, maybe you will be from now on, if only because I say it."

"Whatever you wish will be yours Blake." Jaune said, meaning the words. The only thing he wouldn't accept was things like mass genocide, things like that. That would just be rude to the rest of the world. " _I_ certainly wouldn't mind."

"Nor would I." She said, blushing slightly before patting his chest lightly. Aww, Blake was so adorable when she tried remaining stoic even when they were doing things together. "Now let me go shower."

"Can I come?" He asked cheekily getting her to roll her eyes with a smile. To be fair, it never hurts to ask does it? She made it clear that it was a no though as she pat his chest again, her smaller hand barely making an impact.

Opening his arms to let her pass, Jaune watched as she went to the closet, and grabbed a set of her casual wear. She thankfully wouldn't be needing the uniform today, not that she looked bad in it of course.

Leaving him with a small quiet wave, she shut the door behind her perfectly as Jaune let himself continue his previous planning. Now that she was gone, he could get the final things done couldn't he?

Perfect. Or, as Yang would say, _purr-fect_.

Sitting up in bed, Jaune looked around. Ruby still seemed to be fast asleep, and Yang was still lightly snoring in that way she did, so he had time. Sliding to the side of the bed, he fluffed the pillows before making the bed back into a pristine condition, and leaving to the floor.

Walking over to his desk, Jaune grabbed onto his scroll before taking the program, he'd written the night before and downloading it to a small external flash drive. He'd usually do things like that wirelessly, but this was too important to risk on a shoddy connection.

At least it should be important enough not to risk on a shoddy connection. After all, it wasn't everyday you were hacking the into Beacon's network to try and pick up ghost files was it? Opening the file with his new weapon designs, he ported them over to his helmet's visor.

He's have to be sure to give those to Ruby as they were leaving for Forever Fall. She was sure to like _some_ of what he had there for sure, other bits she might not be so crazy about. Really, it's all about getting positive feedback now.

Or negative feedback. Though, Ruby was more likely to give up strawberries than hurt someone's feelings on purpose.

Grabbing his own clothes out of his drawers, Jaune unfolded it. Since it was chilly outside, he'd be wearing his coat and a black sweater with a white T-shirt underneath. Nothing special, for an occasion requiring nothing special.

Now he just had to wait for Blake to get out of the shower, before dumping on her the task of waking up his other teammates! Can't have him dying so close to their break from school can we?

* * *

 **~o0o~** **Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Jaune finished eating breakfast, patting his stomach as the rest of his team finished. Silently, Yang offered to take the trays and things, so he gladly let her take up on the offer with a smile in her direction. Leaving with them, Jaune clasped his hands onto the table looking towards Ruby who sat there with a content smile on her face.

She'd just eaten far too many cookies to be healthy.

"So, Ruby." Jaune said getting her attention quickly before continuing. "I assume you know that I'm designing a new set of weapons and armor for myself right?"

"Nope!" Ruby shook her head, the black and red hair swishing with the movement. Though, she smiled while saying it, and automatically began bouncing a bit in excitement.

"Oh." He said. Surely he'd made it obvious enough that she could've picked up on it by now? Nevermind, he realized that sure, sometimes he was a bit secretive. "Well, I am, and I'd like your help with some stuff!"

"Great! What do you need help with?" She asked already taking out her scroll, likely opening some sort of notes program to list down whatever he said. If only she was that good in class.

"I'm not asking you to make me an entire weapon, I've already got a general design thought up, but I was just wanting your opinion on it." Taking out his own scroll Jaune slid it over the table in tablet mode before she snatched it eagerly already mumbling something as she poured over his work.

Blake lowered her book, eyeing him. Oh no, he already knew what this would be about. "Wasn't I supposed to get some sort of new armor a while ago? Really, it makes no difference if I don't have it, but it would be a positive difference if I _was_ to finally get it."

Jaune winced. So, she picked up on the fact it hadn't come yet. That was repairable. "Well, there's been problems in physically creating the pieces, and then putting it all together has been a pain."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "That doesn't sound good."

"It isn't that good." Jaune said before sighing and continuing. "Yet it's doable, that's for sure. We'll likely get it when we head back to my place for the break."

Blake nodded, raising her book again as Ruby finished and put his scroll back onto the table. Keeping it flat against the surface, she waiting until he was fully paying attention before speaking. "Your design is good, if a bit simple. With a semblance like yours I might expect something far more advanced, since you can use it."

"B-" Jaune was cut off by her finger as she continued.

"However seeing as most of your previous weapons were useful, if not simple, I have to say that this design isn't bad at all." She said before putting her fingers together and continuing. "I-If anything I'd say it rivals one of mine, but that's impossible."

"Of course it is Ruby, after all you're the best at creating weapons I know." Jaune said, speaking the honest truth. He was smart, and he was good at anything requiring thinking or intense strategy, but design wasn't his _strongest_ asset like it was hers. "Which is why I'm coming to your to verify my design and make any changes you deem necessary."

Ruby blushed, her normally pale skin glowing pink for a second before she waved her hands in front of herself. "No I mean, really I'm not _that_ great! B-but anyways, I made the changes I'd personally make to it. Keep it or don't, I just think it would make it quicker to shift."

He nodded, taking it back and looking at what she had put down. Tilting his head as he ran the angles, Jaune figured that yes, her modifications would indeed make it better. Shifting lengths would be quicker, and it would cut deeper as well as have less air resistance.

Funny to think that a three degree difference of slant would make such a difference.

"Huh, thanks Ruby, seems like this will actually do quite a bit to make the overall design faster." He said before folding his scroll back up and putting it into his pocket. Leaning back as Yang arrived, Jaune looked around the cafeteria. Generally there was a few other first years, but noone of real importance. Weiss' team _had_ just gotten here though.

"No problem Jaune! Your leader must help where she can!" Ruby said cheerfully before sitting there proud of herself and waving over Nora. Responding with just as much enthusiasm, the other girl waved and they headed over here sliding onto the benches.

"Good morning everyone." Weiss said her voice coming over the rest of the cafeterias din as she was greeted by a few responses of generally the same thing.

Nodding in her direction, Jaune gave her a thumbs up. A weird and meaningful gesture for him since his hands were robotic. "Thanks for the notes Weiss. Really helped out with the design and features."

Weiss just puffed herself up feeling proud as she responded, one hand on her chest. "No problem at all. When one is blessed as I am with knowledge of all dust types, it's never a problem to help a more ignorant friend."

Yang laughed before covering it with her hand and Weiss turned to look at her vehenemously. Turning to Jaune as Yang returned totally back to normal, Weiss raised one of her elegant eyebrows at him. "What was that about? Is she trying to imply something?"

Jaune just raised his hands and stepped away from the table. The plan could be altered on the fly, no problem. "Nope, it implies absolutely nothing. Anyways, I'm off to the library real quick. I'll meet all of you at the docks okay?"

Getting a wave from Nora as he made his way out, Jaune reached into his pocket taking out the storage device before cleaning the lint from it. Lint here could get him into trouble if they were _really_ looking for him.

Thankfully, his robotic hands were a boon in this case, as they left behind no oil, no fingerprints, and no DNA which could possibly be traced back to him in any event. Stepping through the doorway into the library, Jaune looked around counting the cameras he could sense while noting their direction and angle.

' _One in each corner, the bookcase getting in the way of camera three for my end location. One and two swivel in intervals, when one isn't looking, two is, and so on. Meaning that I've got maybe two seconds as they're swiveling to get to it. All I need now is camera four, and I've got some of them done. Four seems to be fixed on that location permanently, and any tampering would be instantly picked up by Beacon security._ '

He looked around, stepping through a location the cameras couldn't see before pressing himself against a bookcase casually. Now timing it once more, Jaune slipped from his cover to behind another bookshelf on his right and looked back at the cameras.

Good, he hasn't been spotted entering the library yet.

' _I can't shoot the device into the port, so I need to insert it manually. Though a mad dash in the three second I have isn't enough time to hide unless I was to get under the table… Even then, in that event it's likely my coat would be seen, so that option is out. What I need to do, is pass by the router, insert it without being seen with a bit of sleight of hand, before walking back preferably without being seen again… Though, camera four is just staring at it the entire time, so I need to deal with that first.'_

Eyes widening as Jaune remembered back to a book he read a while back, Jaune turned on his visor before taking off his coat and pushing it onto a shelf. He'd be back for it for it in less than a moment.

Pulling his sleeves as far down his arms they could go, the stopped just before covering the entire hand. No, he needed the mobility, they just couldn't reach his hand. He's also have to pick up a new sweater after this. Good thing he was wearing a white T-shirt.

Now that the glass visor of his helmet was over his face, Jaune cycled to the laser pointer feature before a small light blinked on on the side of it. Turning on the other side as well, Jaune winced. This was going to be hard no matter what.

' _The laser beams disrupt the lense of camera four while I walk in, insert and walk past. Then, on the way back the same thing. Six seconds of missing video footage on a school is virtually nothing. If we assume there's at least two hundred cameras in the entire school, each one recording twenty four hours a day, then that's forty eight hundred hours of video which needs to be checked to insure it wasn't just a hardware problem. Even then, by the time they learn it's this camera specifically, it will have been a week, and they'll have to comb through everything. Not to mention, that even if they did comb through, all they'd see is nobody there.'_

Jaune turned on the green lasers stepping through quickly as the lens was disrupted and he inserted it before rolling behind another bookcase. Opening his scroll, Jaune looked at it as the progress bar filled slowly at first before coming to the top. Done he timed it in his head, before he walked past doing the exact same thing before taking it out and walking behind the first piece of cover.

Fantastic.

Quickly transferring everything on there to his scroll, Jaune left the file under encryption before deleting everything on the storage device and putting it back into his pocket. He'd bury it in Forever Fall later or something, never to be found again.

Now that Jaune had the files left behind on the router, he'd be able to tell what the hell was _really_ going on in this school.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Yang cracked her neck to the left before repeating the action to the right, causing her sister to suppress a shudder at the noise. Sighing, she rubbed her hands together before looking around.

"So is Jaune coming or not?"

Blake sighed, bringing down her book for a second before speaking. "He said he'd meet us here, and he still has fifteen minutes. It's highly doubtful he of all people would be late."

Nodding, Yang agreed with her. Jaune was always punctual, if a bit strange about timing sometimes. Sometimes he was just _this_ close to walking in on one of them as they showered!

Of course, Yang would _personally_ not mind too much, for more than one reason… The main one because hopefully, things would be different soon… And hopefully, just hopefully he'd be willing to accept her.

There was little to no chance that he would be late though. Bouncing up and down a couple of times, Ruby put her hand in the air. "What if, Jaune was doing some sort of really cool spy mission right now!"

Yang couldn't help but laugh at her sister's antics. Jaune was strange, and unbelievably dorky, in an annoyingly charming way, but he wasn't a spy. That wasn't what phenomenally rich awkward geniuses did.

Or, was that what they wanted you to think?

"I doubt it Rubes, he's probably just constipated and hiding in a stall somewhere or something."

Getting a groan from Weiss, Yang laughed at her own joke again even as Nora's big boisterous laughter came from her left. "He's so busy contemplating the universe or whatever whenever he's eating, that he rarely eats enough fiber!"

Yet that way he stared into space sometimes was kind of charming. Made Yang think that he was a really considerate guy, trying to plan out things so nobody's feelings came out hurt in the end.

That… That was one of the reasons she liked him. It was annoying, but she did.

Blake nodded, closing her book quietly before putting it into her outfit for safekeeping. Where, Yang had no idea. "Jaune does have an odd aversion to high fiber foods. It's very possible that his intestines are finally punishing him for it."

"Can't say that the Pep-Schnee is helping much either, do you know how many chemicals are in that thing?" Yang said with a pointed look to Weiss who just huffed looking away haughtily. Haha, this was getting fun, despite the impact Pep-Schnee really could have on Jaune's long term health.

"Just because my family owns the product, does _not_ mean that I endorse it." Weiss said, before claiming no responsibility for any digestional issues or potential forms of rare diseases the drink might give him.

"Have any ideas what he might _actually_ be up to Blake?" Nora asked, bouncing into the center of the group while Ren filled in her old spot in the circle.

Nora had never minded being the center of attention, something she could respect her for.

"Why would I know what he's up to?"

Nora recoiled stumbling back into Ren comically who caught her before lifting her back to her feet with more momentum. "Aren't you guys like, _together together_? You should be sharing everything with one another!"

Blake rolled her eyes with a small smile at the much louder girl before crossing her arms and tapping one finger. "Please, I don't share everything with Jaune, and he doesn't share everything with me."

"Not even Mozambique?" Weiss asked, her curiosity suddenly piqued. Looking over with a raised eyebrow, Yang continued. What would Weiss know about Mozambique?

"Why so curious? He won't tell _anyone_ about Mozambique." Yang said, clarifying the issue as Blake nodded. Scratching her head, Ruby was clearly wondering what might have happened.

They knew that llamas were involved somehow.

" _That's_ why I'm wondering!" Weiss said, getting her pristine white dress ruffled in her agitation before smoothing it out again. "We were engaged for three months, and he didn't tell me! I want to know what happened."

"You and Jaune were engaged?" Came at least four voices include Yang's own as they blurted out the question in seemingly perfect sync. Recoiling slightly, Weiss steeled herself.

"Didn't everyone know already?" Weiss asked raising her eyebrow. Getting everyone to roughly shake their heads, Weiss sighed before raising her hands. "Well, here it is then. When you're as wealthy or as powerful as anyone from families like Jaune's and mine, arranged marriages are not uncommon."

Nodding, Yang understood. Why not make a super power couple by having Jaune and Weiss get married when they're older? It would make them stupidly influential. "Yet you fell out somehow?"

Weiss rolled her eyes with a sigh. "It's not that _we_ fell out. But, we'd gotten engaged just after Jaune had lost his arms, and my father is quite rude. So, Jaune ended the thing. Not to mention that I wasn't quite okay with the thought of arranged marriage at the time."

Blake opened her mouth to say something but Weiss answered to the about to be spoken question quickly. "No, I'm still not okay with being apart of an arranged marriage now. But I _can_ say that now I think me and Jaune are on rather friendly terms."

"We are indeed snow angel." Jaune said appearing from the side before stepping into the circle. Looking around at them, he stopped. "Sorry I took so long. I think I need to start eating more fiber though."

Yang burst out laughing as Nora and Ruby did. Either he chose the exact same excuse they'd randomly made for him, or he really _was_ on the toilet! Tears brimmed in the side of her eyes as her gut started hurting, the minutes of the few laughing until they wheezed going by quickly.

"That's amazing!"

Then, the airship came down, the massive thing likely being far too large for the forest and it's rest of them all took their time taking in the large piece of machinery which would be taking them to the forest today.

"No, _that's_ amazing." Jaune said pointing it out with a smile.

"Indeed it is Jaune." Yang said. Her appreciation of motorcycles extended beyond motorcycles. Anything with a engine or a motor was fine with her.

Another thing both of them held similar opinions about. Machines were absolutely fantastic, not to mention cool as hell. Her Bumblebee was a good example, and apparently Jaune owned quite the swanky car if Blake was to be believed.

"Quite the ship, seems to be a luxury model of some kind." Weiss said, taking it in. Makes sense that _she_ of all people here would know what a luxury model airship would look like.

Turning when there was the signature sound of a riding crop hitting a hand behind them, the students froze. Yang had no clue what they'd just done wrong, but it's best to be careful and assume they _had_ done something.

"Well students, on we go." Glynda Goodwitch said before walking to the front of the first year class and gesturing to the lowered door of the airship. "Everyone board the airship now please."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Tapping his foot against the floor of the airship impatiently, Jaune already felt the need to throw up. He was normally fine for small journeys, twenty minutes or less, but for the couple hours of travelling? Yeah, that sucked.

That sucked a lot.

Looking out the window to his right, Jaune considered looking to his left, but that would only make him depressed. To see his team and his friends all sitting twenty feet away in case he started exploding with vomit?

Yeah, that's unpleasant.

Also understandable really, but it wasn't like projectile vomit could go _that_ far right? Right? Yeah, he's right. He did the math, the curvature, the weight, the force behind it. It would go at absolute maximum, maybe nine and a half feet.

Of course, that was basing everything on a lot of _approximate_ measurements, assumptions and calculations of weight.

Sighing, Jaune considered taking out his scroll before shaking his head. That would only make his stomach worse if anything. While the information on there would be tempting him for the next couple of hours, it was best _not_ to do it as Glynda Goodwitch was in the same room.

It was like robbing a bank, then counting your money in front of the police station.

Ah, let's go over what he had actually just did shall we?

It had been bugging him for the past couple of days, but why was it Beacon hadn't done anything about the attack on the docks? So far, there had been no calls to the headmaster's office, no suspicion, not even a different set of treatment from the lunch lady.

There had been new coverage on the incident, and the police department had witnesses, since they couldn't have been _totally_ unseen. They must've realized that the people there weren't fully trained hunters, so the only thing left was hunters in training.

Yet, despite the witnesses, and despite the fact that it was a large group of people _literally stopping terrorists_ , there had been nothing. Absolutely no repercussions falling onto him, his team, or even Team CRDL.

Something was going on, that he just _couldn't_ be ignorant of.

So, he decided to figure out what was going on. Was it a cover up? Was it really White Fang in the first place? Was it all just an elaborate ruse? A experimental shared dream insertion by Beacon academy?

Jaune had designed a code, based off of a theory on getting what he needed to create a semi-accurate picture of what had been going on back then.

Everything nowadays was wireless. Scrolls, computers, security systems. It was very rare occurrence to have something totally wired in anymore. Meaning that everything that was sent to everything else over wireless had to send their files somewhere before they were redistributed, since nothing can be a direct line.

Thus, ghost files on internet routers.

On every internet router, there was a ghost file left behind which would decay until that data just ceased to exist. Once it ceased to exist, it was gone forever. But, there should still be some left from the past month or so, on the entire Beacon wireless network.

All he had to do was access the files, and get them without the firewall picking him up.

So, Jaune had set up a program to hack and retrieve the files. Hacking was mainly just push and play. Set up a program in advance that had a chance of working or not working depending on the defences, before you press a button and it works.

Jaune had extracted the files, and now had that program in his pocket.

Would he need to hack into Beacon again one day? Perhaps.

If he found something here, maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe it would become routine, to keep Beacon clean and thread out corruption. Or, maybe it was just him being paranoid and overthinking things.

But the second one was unlikely.

Sighing, Jaune looked out the window as Yang walked up to him, sitting down across the aisle from him a plate in her hands. "Hey Yang."

"Hello! I've brought you nutrients!" She said before holding it out towards him. Waving it off as she tossed it onto a trash bin with remarkable accuracy, Jaune knew that any food would kill him. "How are you feeling Jaune? 'Cus you don't look so good."

He shrugged. He was feeling _bad_ for sure, be it wasn't _absolutely terrible_. "I could certainly be better. But, I'm getting some thinking done, so I suppose it's not to bad over here."

"That's good." Yang said before relaxing into her chair. Arguably the riskiest chair to be sitting in too, assuming that he might blow his lid anytime soon. That was brave of her.

"So why did you bring me food instead of anyone else?" Jaune asked before seeing her look of confusion and then clarifying. "I mean, you guys could've called me over, or sent Nora or something"

Yang shrugged, her breasts moving nicely with the movement as he avoided his eyes. Can't look, can't be indecent. Come on Jaune, remember your etiquette lessons! "It would've been more dangerous for the _entire_ group if you went over there, and we drew straws for it using the ones from our juice boxes."

"Ah." Jaune said before smiling at her, offering his thanks with that gesture alone before laughing a bit. "Sorry you had to be the unlucky one."

"No problem Jaune." Yang said before shuddering. "I mean sure, I'm kind of endangering my own life by staying over here right now, but you don't _really_ deserve to be all alone."

That made Jaune smile a little more. At least someone thought so. Though, he knew that they all didn't think he should be alone, they just didn't want to endanger themselves. Besides, it had taken some retellings of old tales from his childhood to get them to stay away in the first place.

"Besides, we're basically there, and need to get onto the Bullhead soon for deployment." Yang said much to Jaune's relief. He'd been judging their speed, and then figuring out where roughly they'd be landing, but it was good to have confirmation.

"Thanks Yang, I'd high five you right now, but that wouldn't be the greatest, so I think I'm going to just sit here and be sick for a minute." Jaune asked before something was thrust generally towards him by Yang. Seeing what it was, he raised an eyebrow. "A bit late for that isn't it Yang?"

"It's never too late for a paper bag." She said totally serious before patting him on the shoulder and leaving. Catching himself looking, Jaune looked away, sure to not let his eyes stray back to her fantastic behind anymore today.

At least, not for the next three minutes.

* * *

 **~o0o~** **Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Stepping out of the Bullhead Jaune took in a deep, _deep_ breath of the lovely crisp forest air to clear his lungs. Ah, now that he was feeling somewhat better, it was time to get to work! Sticking with the group, Jaune waited as everyone took in the sights he's already memorized before Glynda Goodwitch walked to their front, about to talk.

"Now class, today you will all be collecting sap from Forever Fall trees as a study on edible substances available in the wilderness." Glynda said before someone raised their hand in the back. "Yes?"

"Why are we collecting sap? Couldn't we learn this all in a textbook?" The girl asked, looking meek and Glynda looked down at her from her superior height.

"Because Professor Peach thought it best to waste money in Beacon's budget every year so she can come here." Glynda said before slapping her riding crop onto her hand. One had to imagine how she didn't manage to hurt herself doing that. "So, here we are. Does that answer your question?"

Ah Professor Peach. The one teacher here he _hasn't_ seen, and will likely _never_ see. Sometimes, Jaune created her in his mind, if only to have a face to think of when cursing her homework. Though, she could've very well been one of Glynda's alter egos.

"Yes Ma'am." The girl said, now being egged at by her teammates for asking such a question. Oh well, they'd likely be fine.

Stepping aside, Glynda gestured at the large crates she'd brought off of the Bullhead using her semblance. "Inside you will find jars to keep the sap in. However, you must get your sap by piercing the tree yourself."

Jaune nodded. Basically what he was expected.

Heading up to the front of the group, Jaune grabbed a jar before realizing he couldn't see Ruby anywhere even with his above average height. Knowing that meant that she was likely being swamped in people, he grabbed an extra jar for her before looking around and finding her eventually.

"Here's a jar!" Jaune said handing it to her with a smile before she took it from him, setting off in a random direction. Following her, as Yang and Blake followed him, and Team Lavender followed them they eventually came to their own secluded clearing.

Walking up to one of the trees, Jaune felt the overwhelming urge to sneeze. Waiting for it, only for it no never come, Jaune rubbed his eyes. Were they always this itchy and annoying, or was it just him?

Shaking his head and blinking a couple of times to shake the itchy sensation, Jaune took out his blade. This, funnily enough, will be one of the last times he swings it. Though, it didn't make a _lick_ of sense, considering that it would take time for sap to come out, and it would normally need a sap tap for that sort of thing.

He'd read up on it before they left.

Stabbing it deep into the tree bark, Jaune positioned the jar below the hole before drawing his blade quickly cutting deeper into the wood. Then, he was surprised when a watery like substance started flowing out with some volume, spraying over his hands and ruining his sleeves before Jaune sneezed.

Sneezed really, _really_ fucking loud.

"ACHOGABUGABADADA!" Having a voice crack half way into the sneeze, Jaune flew forwards smacking his forehead against the tree before stumbling back and falling onto the grass. Feeling the need to sneeze again, Jaune quickly reached into his coat attempting to take out a pocket handkerchief.

"AZINCHU!" He managed out as he sneezed his nose off, feeling a huge amount of air before he mopped up his face. Well, he's never had allergies _this_ bad before! Was it something to do with the trees?

"AFUGIDUSHADU!"

Sniffing in, Jaune quickly put on his helmet, letting it expand around his head as the air filtration system started working. Had he any sort of rebreather on this thing, he would've been screwed, as the same pollinated air would just screw around inside the mask.

Breathing heavy, Jaune took his jar before filling it up and closing the lid. Now waiting for the rest of the watery raw syrup to spill out of the tree, Jaune looked around. Did anyone notice his abominable sneezes?

Looks like if anyone noticed, they didn't care too much.

Judging how far the smell would likely carry based on the direction and strength of the wind, Jaune brought up a map before circling an area which should also be fairly devoid of people. Nodding, he was about to leave before someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Whirling around as his hand flew to his blade in reaction, Jaune let it drop a half second after seeing it was Yang. Realizing his mask would make talking difficult, Jaune opened up the bottom portion trying not to breath in at all.

"I'm apparently allergic, going to sit down alone, I probably won't die."

Closing it back over his face, he marched off roughly in the correct direction, dodging around trees. Walking over some of the large, white roots Jaune took some time to look up at the blood red leaves.

It was actually a rather nice place. Had he not been allergic, Jaune probably would've found it quite romantic really. A perfect place for he and Blake to just sit and relax in silence, around nature.

Kids needed to get outside more nowadays afterall.

Sitting down on a hillside, Jaune sat there with his arms on his knees before taking out his handkerchief and cleaning his hand. Can't have the sap following him around all day. Looking down at his slightly sticky sleeve, Jaune figured he'd _probably_ be fine. That, or he'd incinerate this jacket.

Releasing the mask, Jaune was greeted by some fresh air for the first time in minutes as he took it in. Seeing as he felt no need to sneeze, and was now feeling better for the most part, Jaune laid back onto the red grass of the forest.

An odd colour, yet soft to lay on.

Looking up at the sky, Jaune had barely a half minute to himself to think about nature and how nice it was to just lay under the sun before his relative tranquility was ruined.

"Hey."

"Hi." He responded, as Yang took her seat beside him, sitting up and tugging on some grass as he lay there, basking in the sun. "You didn't have to come with me you know, I can take care of myself pretty well."

She shook her head before sighing and laying back beside him, her well kept blonde hair used as a pillow of sorts. "I know, but I'd gotten my jar done pretty quick. Might as well keep you company!"

"Suit yourself." He said, shrugging. Oh well, so it would be two people breathing over the sound of nature rather than one. Not really anything to really get his knickers in a twist about.

So, they laid there, in silence together as the birds chirped, some grimm somewhere roared, and a river appeared to be going by lazilly somewhere to their left. Sighing, Jaune soaked it all in.

It was at least three minutes of basking in the sun before Yang broke the silence.

"Jaune?"

"Yes?" He responded. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. Now that he's remembered it, he can virtually go through those moment for every second after that.

"Do you ever want more?" Yang asked, her hands reaching out to the sun for a second before she let them drop to her sides, bouncing against the bouncy grass. There was silence for a couple of seconds as he thought.

That was a good question, while also a vague one. More of what?

"More of somethings yes. But other things, no." Jaune responded looking upwards still. The sun was starting to get annoying, but he'd just close his eyes. It wasn't fantastic, but it was better. "I've got more than enough money, and resources, and problems, and knowledge."

"Yet I still want to know more, meet more people, and to just be _more_." Jaune said before finishing. The pursuit of knowledge was something he would've dedicated his life to had there not been thousands of people doing it already.

"Ah." Yang said before becoming quiet once more. Feeling a nudge at her arm, she looked over to Jaune, who had poked her.

"Do you ever wish for more?" Jaune asked, turning the question back on her, albeit a bit different. Why would she bring it up, unless she was open to it being asked back? Unless of course she was trying to figure it out herself, and was using Jaune's wants as references.

She lay there for a second, before scratching her stomach idly. "Sometimes. Sometimes I want more fun, or for the entire world to just get epic for a while. Or maybe just to know things. Not everything mind you, but some things for sure."

That led to them both being quiet. If she wasn't going to say anything about what she wanted to know, then there was no point in asking her. That was her business. Just like Mozambique was his own business.

Descending deep into thought, his mind eventually drifted towards society. Problems in society. Then he focussed it. Problems in Vale. Then he focussed further. Problems in Beacon. Then he went further and further, until he eventually got to his own team, then people.

Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Blake. All of them had problems. That was fine though.

But, there was a certain set of problems, or rather, something akin to a problem which has been bugging Jaune for a while. He was by no means blind, and it might've been just his logical self who led him to do what he did next. Yet still, he wouldn't regret it.

When running the risk versus the reward in his head, it was always worth it.

"Yang, I've got a question, but you've got to promise not to say anything until I'm done speaking." Jaune said, letting that sit in the air before she hummed. "Because odds are, it's not going to seem great until I'm done."

"Okay."

"Yang, in this world, during the last couple hundred years our society has gotten pretty strange." He started, before gesturing with his hand for himself to continue. It was a subconscious movement he stopped quickly. "During the Great War, most men above a certain age were enlisted, and sent to the front lines to fight."

"Of course, that means that in that age, when some people were easily able to slaughter entire divisions by themselves, that there was a large amount of casualties." Jaune said, continuing on with his long winded explanation. Hopefully it would help, if not open her mind.

"While that was eighty or so years ago, we've never quite recovered. Meaning, that for the next couple of decades at least, there will still be more women then there are men in the world." He finished laying out the first set of facts for her before she nodded.

"So, as a society, things like polygamy have become more mainstream, acceptable to a certain point, and deemed legal by the various governments of the world." Jaune said as Yang blew some hair out of her face, before straightening it with a hand. "So here's my suggestion."

"The math works like this. Unless you swing the other way, which is totally fine, the chances that your future husband, boyfriend or whatever will have another partner is extremely high." He continued. The math was correct, so was his logic. But it still might make things awkward, or ruin everything.

"So, what I'd like to ask you is this. Would you want to go out with me sometime?" Jaune asked, the words spilling out of his mouth even as he felt some sweat accumulating on his brow.

Yang touched his arm, gripping the metal appendage in her own hands while looking upwards towards the sun. It was as bright as her personality, and was without a doubt something akin to what she was feeling.

A giant fusion reaction of emotions as they all collided, releasing everything in every which way.

"Are you being serious Jaune?" Yang asked incredulously as she blushed, her face going red even as she stuttered. It was so un-Yang like it was almost shocking. "I-I'm not that great, and I'm loud, and obnoxious sometimes, and I burp, and I'm unladylike half of the ti-"

"You're a great girl, who deserves someone who treats you right." Jaune said, letting her hands stay on his arm before he continued. "You're confident, and brave, and charming, and witty, and sometimes your puns aren't even all that bad."

"Yang, I'm not asking to marry you, or for you to be with me forever, or for even a week." Jaune said before grasping her hand in his metal one, before gently teasing off the iron grip she had on his arm with his other arm. "All I'm asking, is do you want to go out with me, and would you be okay doing it, knowing that I'm already dating Blake?"

She nodded, before leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder. "I think I'd be okay with that Jaune. As long as you don't treat my like your backup girlfriend, and instead treat me like a proper one."

He moved his arm upwards, making space for her to move in towards him as he wrapped his arm under her hair and over her shoulders. "I promise I'll be fair Yang. I'd want the same thing."

Nuzzling into him a bit, Yang smiled before moving onto her right side and rolling onto him, straddling his waist with her hips even as she looked down at him mischievously. "Well, now might be a good time to tell you then!"

"Tell me what?" Jaune asked before he felt her lean down, kissing him gently. Far more gently than he would've been expecting from Yang. Opening his mouth slightly to better press against hers, Jaune reached his arms forwards wrapping them around her waist before she broke off pressing against his chest.

"I'm really into you Jaune, and I think we go great together." She said before kissing him again, this time with more passion as he gladly reciprocated, rolling her onto her back, with him above her.

She giggled into his mouth as Jaune ran his hands up her waist, before putting them to the sides of her head. Kissing her again, Jaune felt her legs start to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. Leaning in further, Jaune pulled her upwards until she was straddling his lap.

Breaking off for air, Yang panted out of breath before smiling down at him. "I know that wasn't your first kiss, but it was mine! So Jaune…"

"Yeah Yang?"

"Don't hurt me for no reason." She asked patting his shoulders as he hugged her, letting her head rest on his shoulder as he wrapped the robotic arms around her back, pulling her close.

"I can't say I never will Yang, but I can say that I will do absolutely everything in my power to keep you happy and safe." He said with a smile before she kissed him on the cheek, before getting back up to her feet and reaching down her hand.

Taking it in his own, he let himself be hefted up by her immense strength.

"So, when will you tell Blake all of this is happening?" She asked, laughing a bit at the situation even as he scratched his hair. Well, this trip had gone far better than he could've ever hoped.

"I told her that this was a possibility, and an inevitability the day we started dating Yang. She accepted it, knowing that things would likely end up this way." He said before wrapping a arm around her shoulders. "You're okay with it, she's okay with it, I'm _more_ than okay with it."

"So, everything's going to turn out okay." He said with some finality as she leaned into him.

They'd have to stop doing things like that, the small gestures once they returned to the main group, but for now it was totally fine.

"Of course they will! I'll kick ass, and you'll think ass?" Yang said before pausing for a second and scratching her chin. "Well, that didn't sound as cool out loud as it did in my head."

"That's fine Yang. Being cool is overrated anyways."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Well, that's done. It's been in the works virtually forever, and I think I did okay. Now that everything's in motion, and Jaune's harem has been officially started, hopefully things are fine. At least, they'll be fine as long as Jaune is thinking ass! (Cough, anyways.)

Please, let me know in a review. Was it okay? Do you guys like Dragonslayer as much as I do?

Let me know please! I beg you all! Your opinion is highly valuable.

Seems like after the couple month break last time, I _did_ get new blood in here too, which is fantastic! Greet the newcomers nicely ladies and gents!

Anyways, time to answer these reviews than leave. I feel like I could've done certain sections better, but alas, I think this is the best I'm getting without redoing the _entire_ story. Again.

 **Review Responses:**

 **desdelor97:** Yeah, Oscar and Jaune need to fight. Ozpin is a prick most of the time.

 **ThatBrutalReviewer:** Your name gave me a heart attack, but in the end you're totally nice! We'll get more upgrades when his weapon comes in.

 **Raidentensho:** Not quite, but if you've read '4 Years At Beacon' I think it's called, you'll get a pretty good idea of what his new weapon will be.

 **DuplicateUserName:** Indeed! Had to look up what you meant when you said that though.

 **1st Dragon King:** I'll indeed have a good one! You too, and enjoy rereading I suppose!

 **Random O' Panda:** Especially then. Because then think about it, the guy they've set up from the second episode will have gotten cucked by a millennium old wizard in the body of a prepubescent farm boy.

 **ZHsteven:** I monologue in the shower about all sorts of things. Mostly about how alone I am.

 **Reeseracer:** Considered for an Omake, but I'm not sure if this is the right story for one :)

 **JustAddMilk:** Indeed! Oh gosh, man it's nuts. Say one thing bad about Arkos, or don't include Pyrrha and people want your foot on a platter. It's like, listen, Pyrrha went up that tower for _literally no reason whatsoever_ , get over it. She died because of her pride.

Anyways, have a nice day, merry Christmas, leave a review, and drink a Pep-Schnee without dying of the intense amount of chemicals!

-DragonManMax


	17. Chapter 15

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~**_

 _ **~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 _ **"There are three difficulties in authorship: to write anything worth publishing, to find honest men to publish it and to find sensible men to read it."**_

 **\- Charles Caleb Colton**

 **Note:** Alright, here we go. Sorry this took so long, but this story takes brainpower to write, and I don't like releasing something half baked. This chapter takes place roughly two weeks after the last one.

There was the brief break in between semesters, in what I assume was the period in between the end of Volume 1, and the beginning of Volume 2. So, this chapter is basically the food fight chapter, and will naturally include it as such.

You know what's interesting? Today I got the phone number of Red Robinson. Who would've thought?

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter XV**

* * *

Taking in a deep breath once he stepped off of the Bullhead, Jaune looked around. Winter was nearing its end, and spring was soon coming, as evident by the green grass poking through the mud.

Looking up at the trees, Jaune noted the budding leaves and flowers of them before giving a wide smile. It was good to be back. Popping his joints as well as his neck before bouncing twice, Jaune looked behind him to ensure his luggage would follow along before nodding.

Fantastic!

Seeing some other Beacon students exiting the same Airship he had just gotten off of, he was pleased to see that they had gotten no less colourful or impressive in the short time he's been back home with his family.

Of course, the trip _certainly_ wasn't a failure.

Walking along, he heard the whirring of motors behind him as his automated luggage followed him along. The multiple cases were all boxy, and made to stack easily into rectangular spaces with each other. There was a bright blue light on the front of it, if only to make it seem a bit friendlier!

The suitcases were all wirelessly hooked up to his arms, so he simply had to walk around and they'd follow. Most of the time they wouldn't run into people, but it _did_ happen occasionally. Oh well, that was only proof that there was still room for improvement!

Wheeling forwards, they glided along Beacon's pathways as Jaune continued looking around. The smiling people, the happy faces. Seems like everyone was in good spirits! The break between semesters was a nice thing.

Sadly Blake never ended up accompanying him home however.

That had put a bit of a damper on the whole thing, but Jaune had accepted it after a few minutes of thought. It had made more sense than he realized, for more reasons than Blake had likely thought up, given her reason;. For example, Blake had decided not to go, instead preferring to stay with Nora, Ren and Pyrrha as they weren't doing anything.

Of course, she preferred staying with friends over staying with his family, as she was his _girlfriend_. Naturally knowing his family, they would all make a big deal of the whole thing and make terrible jokes as Jaune sat there helpless.

That wouldn't have been very good.

But then, there was also the fact that Yang too was his girlfriend. That would've been difficult to explain, and awkward to explain to his family had he only brought Blake along. Had he brought only Blake, they would've given him serious shit for taking favourites, and that wouldn't be any good.

No… Jaune had promised to treat the both of them fairly, and so he would.

Thus, he hadn't taken either of them, and returned alone. Thankfully, it had ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it had allowed for him to get _far_ more work done than he would've gotten done otherwise.

Extra time talking and catching up with his sisters was a good time too, even if he _really_ hadn't wanted to hear some _certain_ details about his twin's relationship with Cardin. Amber was a fantastic girl, but come on.

He doesn't need to know _everything_.

Shuddering at the thought of what he now knew about Cardin, Jaune looked up towards the sun as he continued on his stroll through the grounds. Ruby and Yang wouldn't be back from Patch later in the afternoon sadly, so it was still a while until he'd be seeing his blonde girlfriend…

Speaking of which, where was his bookworm cat-eared girlfriend?

Shouldn't she have been waiting at the Airship docks with a bouquet of roses or something? Tearfully saying hello as he wrapped his arms around her, before they become entrapped in once another's embrace, the two of t-

"Well… It appears as though I've read one too many romance novels over the break." Jaune said partially to himself as he arrived outside of the dorms building. It was true… He had read one too many for a man on his vacation.

Oh well, romance is good for the heart.

Stepping into the dorm building, Jaune looked down the hallways noting how everything was clean and smelling nice. It appears as though the Beacon staff really had gotten to work in doing the cleaning during the break.

That was good!

Walking through the cleanly interior, he noted the polished floors. Continuing walking down the hallways with his shoes making a small clapping noise, he made his way to the elevator up before stepping in.

Jaune waited for his luggage to get in with him before hitting the button.

Letting the door close in front of him as he was surrounded by a set of seemingly aggressive grey rectangular suitcases with bright blue lasers on the front, Jaune realized that it was a bit of a strange scene.

Shrugging, he looked down at his little buddies.

Robots had hearts too!

"Welp, let me show you guys the room then yeah?" He said before turning to suitcase… Hmm…. What to name him…. Stan! "Stan, I know you're carrying those steel poles I needed, so I think you'll love the place."

Hearing a motor whine from another one of the suitcases, Jaune rolled his eyes. "Don't worry I didn't forget about you Jessica. Jeez, I can have other suitcases other than you sometimes okay?"

Sighing as he stepped out of the elevator, Jaune held the door open for his little robot suitcases as they all rolled out. Watching them bump into each other briefly before calmly filing through, he shook his head.

He needed to interact with some proper humans again.

Taking out his scroll once he got in front of his room, Jaune scanned it over the door handle before it opened and let him in. Walking inside, he watched the robots file into the center of the room before powering down and becoming a tad more compact.

"Well… Time to get to work eh?" Jaune said, before heading over to robot suitcase, codename 'Stan'. Reaching down, he grabbed it before putting it onto the bed. It was a heavy thing, but only the size of a good old regular suitcase.

Opening it and taking out his metal poles, he looked at the haphazardly constructed bunk beds. Blake's bed was connected to Yang's using a set of books underneath each leg, and that alone was dangerous as hell's bells.

Moving over to it, he figured that he could _probably_ lift the thing by himself, or hold it up if he was going to do it one leg at a time. Rubbing his chin, Jaune withdrew a steel pole before letting it telescope into a shorter form.

Slowly taking out books from one of the legs, Jaune removed all of them, keeping the bed stable before he put the steel pole in between. Letting it expand to fill the three foot gap, he made sure it was sturdily held there by the grip on both ends before nodding, satisfied.

Putting the books onto Blake's desk, he repeated this with all of the legs before he was done, and things were much more stable. Not to mention that now the books weren't being abused by those massive beds anymore!

Seeing that the room was clean, and all the beds were made, Jaune figured that the cleaning staff of Beacon had been let in and set to clean it this morning… Just before the students would be returning they would come back to clean linens, as well as a freshly vacuumed carpet and what he assumed to be a fully laundried wardrobe.

That was awfully nice of them!

Though to be fair, they _were_ the future protectors of humanity from all threats grimm or otherwise… Perhaps it was best that they be treated well. Grabbing onto his gift for Yang, Jaune put that suitcase onto her bed into a nice and orderly way before doing the same with Blake's.

Grabbing onto Ruby's case, he looked up at the dangerous contraption of ropes that was above his own bed. It was the only thing keeping her from crushing him in her sleep. Sighing, Jaune put her gift to the side and took out some extra rope from his suitcase.

Quickly working, he re-knotted everything, before attaching some winches to the ceiling and running the ropes through them. Satisfied that there was at least _some sort_ of safety mechanism should everything ever fail, he looked on satisfied.

Damn, the trucker's hitch was one nice knot.

Putting Ruby's gift onto her bed, Jaune left the case to itself before looking around the room. Nodding, Jaune felt satisfied knowing that everyone was a bit safer now. Putting his coat onto the back of his chair, he left the room with a bit of a smile.

He had an idea where one of his girlfriends might be.

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Another page flicked by her gaze as she stared on, scanning the words silently. Intently drinking in each word, every sentence, and all the miniscule details painstakingly put in by the author, she let it all flow through her.

Blake could almost feel as though she was in the fantasy itself.

The sights, the smells, the very sounds that could be happening in the medieval world she found herself sucked into. All of it beckoned to her, sucking Blake in without mercy as it bent her to the whimsical series that was the 'Chair of Blades'.

Another page flicked through her fingers to the other side before her mind was constantly filled with more and more words. The black swirling figures collided in her mind, making the most wonderous images and senses.

Naturally, all of that was ruined in record time.

Giving a 'eep' as someone tapped her on the shoulder, Blake briefly jumped in her seat as she turned, ready to give whoever was disturbing her a piece of her mind. Looking upwards into the face of they who dared disturb her paradise, Blake's eyes went wide before she found herself standing up.

Smiling as his arms wrapped around her waist, Blake wrapped her arms around his chest as he pulled her close. She could hear his heart beating through his chest, steady and calm, as well as relaxing.

"Welcome back." Blake said politely to her boyfriend as he rubbed up and down her back with one of his hands. Feeling the soft movements tracing down her back, she felt a pleasured hum building in her chest before she killed it.

She wasn't a kitten anymore! Purring was for the uncontrolled children who shared her traits!

"It's good to be back Blake." Jaune said before looking down at her with a grin. Moving his head down slightly, Jaune's lips met hers as she raised herself onto her tiptoes to meet him.

Feeling his firm lips against hers Blake tightened her hold on him for the few moments they kissed before breaking off with her arms draped around his neck. Letting out a sweet breath before becoming flat footed once more, Blake stepped away from him and sat back in her chair.

Taking the one next to her, Jaune leant on one of his mechanical arms as he looked at her.

Noting that his hair was slightly more well done than usual, she also glanced him up and down before frowning slightly. He still looked _good_ , and certainly was still good looking, what with him and his annoying charm, but…

"You've gained weight." She said bluntly tilting her head slightly as her gaze bore into his face.

He recoiled as though struck, his other hand moving to his heart as his face twisted into a terrible grimace. Eyes flying open, Jaune looked her straight in the eyes with a hurt expression.

"I've been gone for two weeks and that's your first proper sentence to greet me with?" He said, his cobalt irises flicking about slightly, looking her over in return. Slightly shrinking under his intense gaze, Blake felt it.

Nobody knew how much _he_ would be seeing.

"Well I'm sorry, but you have." Blake said once more, her lips curling into a thin smile as he scowled and leant back onto his arms. Had he found anything highly different he would've pointed it out.

"Well _I'm_ sorry that I have a large family!" Jaune said grinning as he must've thought about them. Raising an eyebrow at him, Blake waited for him to explain. He normally just let things sit for a second before continuing.

"We cook all this food, and then my sisters are all dieting! Every year! They never learn! So, like _every_ year, it ends up being _my_ responsibility to finish it all!" Jaune said with an exasperated tone as he nudged Blake's book nearer him. Looking at the title, he nudged it back.

"Sometimes I'm just tired of being the one that eats everything!" He finished before sighing onto the table. Scooching her chair over, Blake sat nearer to him as her legs brushed his underneath the table.

"Have _you_ ever considered being the one to diet?" She asked, despite knowing the response already. He thought of everything, all the time. It was annoying sometimes.

"Thought about it, tried it, it didn't work." Jaune said before looking back up to her with a smile. Reaching one hand over, he held hers lightly in between the metal fingers. "But that's fine. I'm back with you, and everything's great again!"

Smiling as she felt some heat build in her cheeks, Blake rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. "That was corny."

"I know, but I couldn't resist." Jaune said before sitting up properly next to her and looking around the library. Following his gaze, she saw the books and the tables, as well as a few students.

Most people were out eating lunch right now.

"So, where's everyone else?" He asked to Blake with a raised eyebrow before she shrugged.

"They're probably at lunch. We can go grab something if you'd like." Blake offered as she reached forwards taking her book. Tucking it into a hidden pocket somewhere (?) in her outfit, Blake stood up as he tucked in his chair.

"Did anything interesting happen while I was gone Blake?" Jaune asked curiously before tucking in her own chair and putting his hand overtop of hers protectively as they walked side by side.

Though it wasn't a soft one, the hand was still warm and comforting to the touch.

"Nothing really." Blake said, set to leave it at that. There had basically been nothing which had happened over the couple weeks he'd been gone. What _had_ happened could wait, she was sure they'd have _plenty_ of time to discuss anything of interest.

"Though, they had some chefs come in from a nice place in Vale to make everyone here a nice dinner for the solstice." She said, as Jaune tilted his head at her. "I had them make me tuna."

"Ah." Jaune said before sounding interested. Blake wasn't sure if he _actually_ was though. Odds were he already knew about the meal somehow. "What kind of tuna was it?"

Smiling as she remembered the meal, Blake felt the taste still on her lips, and the taste buds on her tongue dance with delight. That was a good day. "All of the kinds."

Stepping out of the library with him, she looked down the hallway and was delighted to see that there was nobody down the hall. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her boyfriend or anything, _far_ from it in fact, but Blake was simply not all too great at public displays of affection.

Something that he very well knew by now.

Softly smiling to herself as they made a bit of smalltalk, she thought back on that point for a second. She was almost a direct opposite to Yang in that way wasn't she?

Whereas the other girl sharing her boyfriend's affections was loud and boisterous, Blake herself was quiet and calm. Whereas Yang tended to rush in with no tact, she hung back using cover and attacking at a range.

The two were about as different as light and darkness, yet had still somehow managed to attract the love of Jaune. Something that she was most certainly thankful for. She hadn't been this happy in years!

Stepping out into the cold, Blake looked at her boyfriend again.

The soft light bathed his face in a yellow glow, as his hair shone and he stood there, tall. Smiling to herself slightly again, Blake gave a small sigh of satisfaction. He was back, and she had him there.

Of course, things could've been worse over the break. Their sister team had been nice enough to offer her a spot in their room for the break. Sleeping alone in the room just would've been sad, and Blake was glad she had accepted Weiss' offer.

Even though she had to learn to accept Nora's antics while she was there.

Strolling across the grounds of Beacon, the two of them enjoyed their time together as he absorbed back in the sights. Very little had changed, that she knew, but the very simple changing of the weather and time of day could change a lot. Normally, they would be in class right about now, unable to enjoy the afternoon sun.

Coming to a stop, Jaune stopped in the center of the grounds, almost having placed himself perfectly in the center. Anything else and she was sure he would've been disappointed in himself.

Turning to him without letting her hand leave his, Blake looked at him. "Jaune?"

"Sorry, I just feel like I don't say this enough..." Jaune said with a smile as he looked down at her. "Blake, you're great. Absolutely fantastic in every way. If someone asked me what I liked about you the most, I'd say everything."

His grin was bright and obnoxiously infectious, and Blake felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips.

"What can I say… I _am_ pretty charming." She said taking a step closer to him before taking his other hand in her much slimmer one.

"I'm not sure how well this is coming out, or if I'm making this a whole new level of awkwardness…" Jaune said before leaning down slightly. "But I love you Blake. I really do."

She went onto her tiptoes again, making her face level with his as Blake put a kiss upon his lips, she felt the warmth as he went deeper into it, taking her with him. The feeling was intoxicating, and she found her hands running up his arms, and across his chest before they settled around his neck and shoulders lightly.

Settling his hands into the small of her back, pulling her body closer to his as their heat intermingled, and the two of them enjoyed the bliss in each other's lips. The excitement and love of it coursed through her veins, but the lack of oxygen in her lungs forced her to part, her warm breath against his chest.

Her face grew hot as she looked back up at him. "I love you too Jaune."

Jaune's hands settled on her waist, and she felt the gentle pressure against her side. "I know."

"Then you should know that I know that you know..." Blake said, her ears twitching under her bow sightly, the fabric brushing against them annoyingly. "Now let's go fine everyone else."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

Yang and Ruby had arrived a few minutes after Blake had made that line. He had gotten an text message on his scroll just before they managed to properly get into the cafeteria, so he'd diverted his course.

Blake had chosen to instead enter the cafeteria and begin consuming nutrients, as she felt as though Jaune and yang deserved some privacy for their reunion. It was a nice gesture of her, that was for certain.

Heading back over to the airship docks where he was before, Jaune was prepared to pick them, up, standing there alone waiting for them.

Seeing the airship coming in, Jaune made several mental notes for later. One was to secure a meeting with Ozpin sometime in the future. The information he'd decrypted and managed to read was amazing. Another note was to get the girls set up with their new gear as soon as possible.

The third note was that he needed to get a suit dry cleaned.

The wind briefly picked up as the massive ship came descending into the port, docking with a loud almost 'whoosh' like noise. Seeing the massive steel flying machine, he was briefly impressed before he remembered everything wrong with it.

"Jaune!" Watching as the door opened, the said boy watched as Yang bounced out happily. Crossing the distance between them in less than ten seconds, the girl was quickly in front of him with her hands onto his shirt pulling him down into a kiss.

Feeling the searing heat behind it, Jaune felt her passion before he wrapped his arms around Yang's waist and pressed her soft body against his. Feeling her breasts pushing up against his chest as he deepened the kiss, Jaune ran his hands down her back, before his mechanical hands found a nice resting place on her shapely backside.

Moaning Yang wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer before jumping upwards. Quickly moving his hands around as she did so, Jaune held his hands under her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Her shapely legs were under his touch, but for now Jaune was far too busy accepting Yang's probing tongue into his mouth, before reciprocating with his own. Running his tongue across hers in a passionate liplock, the two of them battled back and forth like that for at least a minute before Jaune realized there was an annoyed coughing coming from next to them.

"COUGH COUGH PLEASE!" Ruby said, shouting out the word 'cough' as apparently her actual coughs hadn't been subtle enough. Wrestling his face away from Yang's for a brief moment, Jaune saw that she stood there red faced with one of her toes tapping onto the ground.

His face went slightly red before he let Yang down, and the older sister coughed herself before fixing her outfit where it had become disheveled. "Oh wow! Hey Ruby! Fancy meeting _you_ here today!"

"Ugh Yang!" Ruby said with a roll of her eyes before crossing her arms and huffing cutely. "We came here together!"

"Right!" Yang said before hopping slightly. "I _totally_ remembered that. But come on! I haven't seen my boyfriend in two weeks, cut me some slack sis!"

Jaune scratched the back of his head slightly. Well, this was getting awkward. Thankfully they seemed to be the only passengers, otherwise they probably could've been charged for indecent exposure right then.

"I don't have a problem with you kissing your b-boyfriend Yang!" Ruby said cutely once more before letting her arms dropped from their crossed state. "All I'm saying is that you should get a room!"

"Let's get a room Jaune!" Yang said, tugging on his sleeve before she began leading him away with a laugh while Ruby followed.

Letting his heels drag across the ground as Yang pulled him with her tremendous strength, Jaune let out a loud laugh. "Alright. How about instead of getting _a_ room, he _go_ to _the room_ which is the cafeteria?"

Rolling her eyes, Yang started tugging him instead in that direction before deciding it was too much effort and letting him go. Dusting himself off and fixing his clothes which were still disheveled from before, Jaune nodded.

"Everyone else should be there already." Jaune said before walking between the two of them. Yang happily walked along next to him, and Ruby too seemed to be in a good mood. "How was your break?"

Yang broke out a grin. "Great! Got a bunch of cash, bought a couple songs and things. Tuned up my bike. You know, the fun stuff! Ruby on the other hand…"

Ruby seemed just as excited as she skipped forwards. " _I_ put my money to a good use! I got a new scope for Crescent Rose!"

He raised his eyebrow. "That's it?"

Shuffling slightly Ruby let out a garbled mumble. Leaning in closer, he made it clear that he wanted to hear the rest before she finally blurt it out. "It's made of gold for some reason and I didn't realize it before buying it!"

"Wow." Jaune said before stopping there and waiting a second before continuing that stride. "It's rather impressive that they managed to make a golden scope. But surely you'd be able to sell it right? Or melt it down?"

Ruby huffed again slightly. "I'd never get rid of a good scope just because it's golden and sucked my entire account dry! A good scope is a good scope…"

"If you say so Ruby." Jaune said with a smile as she went back to her usual cheerful self. Rubbing the back of his head slightly as he considered telling them, Jaune figured it was for the best.

"I've got gifts for you guys once we get back to the room later tonight by the way, so everyone will get something." Jaune said before getting a side hug from Yang.

"Thank you Jaune!" She said kissing him on the cheek before dropping and walking along beside him as Ruby gave a happy noise.

"Anyways, according to Blake things have been pretty normal around here since we've left." Jaune said before hearing a 'thunk' of something against glass. Not all to concerned, he continued walking with them.

"Everything for the most part is normal. There shouldn't have been any strange events going on in the time since we've been gone." He said as he pushed open the door to the cafeteria and instantly regret saying that.

There was a huge spray of some sort of glop flying from one side of the room. Seeing the huge white mess flying towards them, he pushed Yang out of the way before tackling Ruby to safety. Rolling under a set of baguettes with her, he kicked up a table.

Settling into the cover as the sounds of pandemonium filled his ears, Jaune peeked up briefly as Ruby gained her bearings before shouting. "This is panda-monium!"

Ignoring that she technically said it wrong, he looked around. All across the cafeteria people were turning on each other, left and right they continued going against one another. Russel was shaking Cardin with asparagus, before Dove managed to hit him in the head with a tray.

Seeing Nora flying over the crowd, she stabbed down with a poll into an watermelon before knocking one student out of a previously intact window. Seeing her go to town all over the cafeteria, Jaune saw Pyrrha leaping through the air gracefully before engaging with a ticked off Blake.

Turning to Ruby, he pat her shoulder. "I think whoever is controlling the mountain of tables by the end wins. That's what Team Lavender is defending, and Weiss is solidifying the dressings into a solid wall of ice. We need to get there!"

She nodded, before grabbing onto a sausage which rolled their way. Holding onto it like a dagger, Ruby gave him a brief order. "Distract them!"

Rushing forwards with a yell, Jaune slid across the ground knocking the feet out from a student before ramming a pudding cup into his chest with a sickening splash. As the red substance flew into his face, he grew a manic grin as the bloodlust burned in his veins.

Turning, Jaune blocked a hit with his arm before engaging in a high stakes battle of the century. Letting the block of cheese hit him in the chest, Jaune stumbled to the side before rolling onto his back over the table and stabbing the man in the forehead with the cucumber.

It sent him sprawling!

Picking up a tray as well as a large baguette, he looked around the room before seeing that Ruby had managed to dash past the few students in her way and was now engaging with Weiss. Giving off a manic laugh as a soda can exploded to his left, Jaune screamed with a righteous fury before diving back into the fray.

Dispatching another, Jaune turned and was face to face with Pyrrha, his baguette stopping her two as they locked eyes and he smirked before she did too. Sweeping her legs down low, she attempted to get him before he jumped over it, bringing down the baguette.

Rolling out of the way she threw one at him which deflected off of his tray before she blitzed forwards like lightning, scarily fast over the distance between them. Diving in a surprise tackle, she crushed him into a bench before straddling him and raising the baguette.

Bringing it down on his face in several jabs, she barely scraped by his cheeks as he dodged before Jaune reached out to a soda can rolling his way. Tossing it behind her, Jaune let her hit him once in the forehead before the can bounced off a pillar and exploded against her back in a flurry of grape action.

"Sorry!"

Falling forwards, Pyrrha' body fell into his arms before he tossed her into a group of hungry second year fans of hers. Swooping down he picked up a sausage chain before hearing a yelp and seeing Blake flying towards him.

"Noo!"

Out of terrifying instinct, Jaune brought up the sausage chain before she was closelined on it, spinning once around before landing in a pile next to him. Getting up she struggled away leaving him with whatever it was he had somehow managed to tug her away from.

"Ah! Get the betrayer!" Ren said before he lunged forwards. "Even his own team is not safe!"

Wrapping the sausages around his wrists he made the line go taut as he caught one of Ren's leeks and ripped it out of his hand. Feeling the other one heading for his throat, he whipped a loose sausage at the end into the monks throat feeling him crumple before rolling and stabbing Jaune in the back of the knee cap.

Twisting, Jaune had grabbed a pufferfish which was on the ground and was now ramming it towards Ren! But then, like a bolt of fire there was a yell of hatred and Yang flew in with two turkeys on her hands knocking Ren clean out of the way before turning to Jaune and giving him a wink.

But it was too late to stop his arm!

Crashing the pufferfish into her cushioned chest, Jaune herd Yang's 'oof' before she fell into his arms and he dipped her to the ground slowly. Looking upwards, Jaune saw that the entire room had stopped to see the great betrayal between lovers!

"Get the terrible boyfriend!" Nora shouted as her rallying cry, before all those, even previously knocked down returned, arming themselves with the makeshift weaponry. Pandemonium descended upon them once more before Jaune ran, jumping onto a table.

Sliding across it using a tray, he knocked over a glass of milk before he jumped feeling the presence coming for him from the back of his head. Dodging out of the way of a huge makeshift spear consisting of two baguettes and a broken plate, Jaune kicked up a tray before stopping the spear of Sky dead in its tracks.

"That's impolite Sky. I thought I taught you better than that!" Twisting, Jaune reached a mechanical hand forwards before yanking the spear out of his hands and turning it on it's wielder, hitting him in the head with the shaft before tossing the spear at a wild Nora.

Running away from the excited girl as she laughed, Jaune spotted a bottle of mustard before jumping on it. Spewing an insane amount of its contents onto the floor, the bright yellow sauce covered the floor making it slick before he dove off of the table head first.

Landing on his chest, he slid forwards before turning to his back and catching the watermelon. Exploding in his hands, it covered him in the bits before the metal shaft of the hammer smacked him in the chest, and his breath came out all at once.

"Gotcha!" Nora said with a strange accent before he slid to a stop.

All hope was lost.

Looking upwards, he saw the bloody wall in front of him, the massive ketchup structure held together by a combination of glyphs working at full power as the sounds of combat filled the chamber. Looking at it, Nora huffed before lifting the rod.

He laughed, it was a weak and pitiful thing but he saw Nora and what she was going to attempt. "You'll never crack it! Weiss has trapped herself in! There's no stopping i-"

There was a terrible shattering noise as the metal pole drove straight through the ice, and Jaune instantly began to regret anything he's ever done to be mean to Nora. Seeing the wall come down, the students charged into Fort Nora before there was silence, and the two great titans clashed one last time.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaa!" Came Ruby's higher voice, her arm drawn back, a apple clutched in her hands, ready to make contact with Weiss' shoulder or face.

"Haaaaaaa!" Came Weiss, her popsicle hands being like that of the Wolverine, ready to slather Ruby in terrible sticky and sugary goodness before they clashed, and everything went silent.

The two of them fell out of the air, and onto the ground of the cafeteria before there was a grand yell. Multiple yells! A dozen! Then a thousand! Everyone clambered forwards, their weapons raised as they clashed up the tables, fighting their way up the mountain.

"The crown will be mine!"

"No! It will be mine!

"Or mine!"

"Shut up and give it to me!"

As they clashed and stopped each other from making any progress, Jaune knew that the only way this wretched and destructive battle would end anytime soon would be if the crown were to be seized.

"Pyrrha! I'm sorry for everything!" Jaune said before crouching for the red haired girl as she sprinted over. Jumping once she got close, her heel landed in his hands with a solid clack before he gave a mighty grunt and launched her upwards, and she soared far above him.

"It's okay!"

Soaring to the top with nobody to stop her, she made a grand flip before landing on the top table, red hair streaming behind her like a bloody red flag. Waving in an unseen wind, her hair shimmered before a upside down pie tin came down on her head, free from splatter or mess.

"I'm the Queen of the castle!"

Then, silence, as the assault stopped, and they all dropped to their knees, praising the one who lorded above them, the Queen of the castle. She would be the one queen to rule them all! They all dropped, in silence, before she opened her mouth to say something.

Only to be cut off by the slamming of a door and the entrance of one _very_ ticked blonde.

"Children!" Glynda shouted, her crop flicking to the side. Slowly, the mess was cleaned off the walls, as well as everything else as all the organic waste went streaming out the windows to god knows where.

People shouted as the tables began bouncing back to their original spots. The plates were fixed, the trays reorganized, and the cutlery laid out. Every piece of garbage was put into the appropriate bin, before the students themselves were taken in by her power, moved to the front of the room and laid out in front of her.

She had them doing very painful squats.

"Do _not_ play with your food!" Fixing her glasses, the teacher looked to her side as a hand came down on her shoulder, and Ozpin came into the room with his signature coffee cup.

"Release them from the squats Glynda, no matter how much it may please you to see them doing such." Ozpin said before taking a sip. Doing so with a sigh, Glynda released the students from the muscle numbing position.

"Jaune Arc. Come to my office for severe reprimandation." He said with a smile before Jaune walked over. Knowing that he wasn't there to be punished about the _food fight_ , Jaune looked back to his team.

"I'll be back later." Seeing their worried faces, he did his best to assure them before walking out with Ozpin. The second the door closed behind them, the headmaster turned to Jaune and raised an eyebrow.

"Well… You've seen the files then have you?" Ozpin said, aiming the question to Jaune, who only nodded at the bluntness of the normally impossible to understand professor. "You don't know the half of it Jaune."

"One of my many goals Ozpin is to forever know more." Jaune said, referring to the teacher casually, before filing some facts away. Not even the half of it? There had been a _lot_ on those files.

"Then allow me to fill you in once we get to my office."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

"You can not take this away from me." She said, the fire in her eyes as powerful as that in her hand. Burning brightly, the flames simply reflected off of her dress as the amber eyes grew more angry towards the man across from her.

"Why not?"

Cinder took a deep breath, her tiny hand flames becoming slightly larger as the man across from her was coming dangerously close to an almost incineration. Damn Watts. Always trying to get his way. He would _never_ take this away from her.

"The Glenn project is mine. The Vale Relic is mine." Cinder continued, the tiny flames in her hand extinguishing as she wrestled her uncouth emotions back into line. Yet still, she spoke calmly and in control. "The Relic will be given back to Salem, and Vale will be destroyed."

"That's not a reason as to why you should keep the project." Arthur Watts said, fixing his suit as he stood in the darkness. Looking down at his gloves, she saw the conductive plates on them flicker once.

"I've worked hard on this since the beginning..." Cinder said, her emotions nearly taking control before she reached one hand upwards. Her left hand. "I've lost an arm on this path, and I will finish it without your help."

Watts shook his head in disappointment, the black hair on his head shuffling a bit. "There will be other chances to prove yourself to Salem."

Cinder shook her head. Would there be another chances? Of course there would be. But there was something about this chance. Something about Beacon. There was something in Beacon, or rather a somebody she must annihilate.

"There may be other chances, but this one is _mine_." Cinder said before Watts backed off, his mouth moving into a thin line. Smirking at her victory, Cinder quickly regained her composure and went back to her usual self.

"Well be wary then." Watts said before taking a few steps towards the exit. Stopping before he left, the Doctor looked back over his shoulder at Cinder, his green eyes reflecting the light of the warehouse.

"Ozpin is smart, scarily so." Watts said, before continuing. "He's got a impressive crop of pupils this year. Ones that could without a doubt surpass him one day. I'm simply saying that caution is advised."

"I understand." Cinder said with a smile to her lips. "Anything else?"

"Ah yes…" Watts said before he pushed the door open. "Should you fail, we will ensure you do not fail _ever_ again."

Leaving with a flourish, the Doctor letting Cinder stand there in the almost pitch black warehouse all by her lonesome. Standing there, Cinder let some flames travel up her right arm, before they flickered across her shoulders and down her left arm.

"Failure is something I killed a _long_ time ago."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** Done! Tell me how you enjoyed it! It's been a while, but we're back now. Bi-weekly is looking like that's the best way for all of my stories. I have nothing else to work on tomorrow, so smut should be out.

Yell at me in PM if it's not.

Anyways, leave a review please! I like to know when I'm getting rusty and things. So please, have a wonderful day, don't have a food fight, listen to some good music, talk to the person of your dreams, and watch some great TV!

Woo!

 **Review Responses:**

 **Random O' Panda:** Jauney won't get cucked! At least, _probably_ not! Unless I misunderstand something and ruin everything again…

 **Raidentensho:** There'll be more of a Marvel vibe than DC. DC would be more of 'The Woman Whisperer' in all honesty. Iron Legion confirmed? One day…

 **desdelor97:** Well, that didn't happen did it? Oh well. Jaune still gets the girl (I hope) so everything'll be fine!  
 **DuplicateUserName:** Haha of course! This is the new Game Of Thrones!

 **Fuzzyjacket:** Still don't get that… Is it a meme?

 **Travis Palmer:** Ruby  & Weiss are confirmed, yes.

 **Alrickit:** No idea. I didn't know that threesome pairings were a thing!

 **1st Dragon King:** I haven't tried Mountain Dew for writing this yet… Interesting.

 **ZHsteven:** Well, even before it wasn't NSFW. I mean, think about it. Metal hands… Not metal _other_ bits. You get it.

 **JustAddMilk:** ;) I'm a rapscallion alright!

 **littlejason8:** Took a bunch of thinking and some research from other RWBY stories, but I got it man! The perfect formula!  
 **Shawn1302:** Calm your tits mate. You're exactly the kinda guy I was talking about. Please at least put up a good argument :(

 **psp reader:** Happy New Year! Late as shit, but oh well!

 **Gideon Aurum:** Hmm…. But then I wouldn't get to endlessly add crazy shit to it would I?

 **Ozpin52:** Thanks! Good to see there's people who see it as such!  
 **EmeraldGuardian7:** You did indeed! I remember you in fact! Yeah, over the period of Volume 3's end to Volume 5's end I've liked Weiss more and more. Uhh… Does a month count as soon?

 **Zolth411:** Luv u 2 bb.

Anyways, I'm out! Peace! Time to sleep! (Started playing Fornite for PC two days ago btw… Pretty swanky. Pretty swanky indeed.)

-DragonManMax


	18. Chapter 16

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~  
~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note:** Well, looks like we're getting this out today. Why you may ask? Just preordered 'Final Fantasy 15' for PC, and that comes out Tuesday. _Also_ coming out Tuesday is 'Operation Chimera', for one of my favorite games 'Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege'.

In other words, free time is going to just kinda wink out of existence… By that, I mean this week you won't get anything (except The Woman Whisperer on Monday), and the week after is Spring Break I think, so I'll have time for updates.

Technically, since spring break is coming, you'll get more updates than not!~

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

 **Chapter XVI**

* * *

There was little words exchanged on the way to Ozpin's office.

The three of them walked through the meticulously well kept grounds of Beacon. Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Glynda Goodwitch, and Jaune Arc himself. Ozpin and Glynda alone would've been enough to draw attention on a normal day, but on a day like this, in which everyone thought that Jaune was going to get a massive punishment for the food fight?

Not a single person crossed their pass, made eye contact, or called a greeting.

It was not as though this wasn't a good thing of course. If Jaune had to make a educated guess, his entire repertoire would be needed for this next few hours. His mind would have to be constantly in a state of overdrive. All engines must be roaring ahead, preparing to course forwards into an uncertain, and doubtlessly dangerous future.

Anybody speaking to him would simply be a distraction.

Though, that didn't stop him from being distracted of course. His mind seemingly wandered, categorizing dirt colours, and who was walking where at what time. All of this, filed away, to be reexamined by his brain's subconscious in his sleep.

But he knew it was just his mind trying to distract him from whatever it was he was about to learn. Distract him, with the comfortable knowledge that everything he knew was observable and understandable, and reassure him that everything would be fine.

Some people have their consciousness tear itself apart into separate pieces, each one taking control when needed. Others suppress memories, and create alternate realities, or backgrounds, when encountered with something they couldn't handle. Others distracted themselves from the problem, almost refusing its existence.

Of course, the second Jaune was aware his mind was doing this, that plan was useless.

Everytime his mind wandered or strayed, Jaune knew for a fact that there was reason for it. Naturally, he found those reasons. Everytime he found one, he marked why it was freaking him out, before destroying the doubt, controlling everything.

He was going to be told things, which would certainly change the world.

Not in a small _the butterfly flapped its wings once_ sort of way, but in the sense that his knowledge of it will have a significant change to history itself. All of the potential futures would be changed if he was told, and instantly an infinite amount more would pop into existence.

There's a infinite amount of multiverse, and all of them are different. Technically everything _is_ happening, _will be_ happening, _won't_ happen, _has_ happened, _can't_ happen, _can_ happen, _is_ possible, _isn't_ possible, and so on.

It's almost reassuring, to think that absolutely everything, no matter how unlikely, is possible.

Running everything through once more in his mind, as the clacking of Ozpin's cane against the sidewalk, eventually turned into sharper clacks, he went over what he knows, and doesn't know.

He _knows_ , that there is a group of highly important people who pull strings across the kingdoms. To do quite what… He doesn't know that, but he knows that they exist, and likely have been behind some of the largest most important things in history.

Economy control, kingdom boundaries, balance of power between countries, and possibly races. There appears to be no limit as to what these people could control, and that thought in itself was not a good side for humanity.

To know that they were all being controlled from the shadows, by people who didn't have their best interests in heart? That would generate enough negativity to bring grimm from every part of the planet, to every human, where they will all be slaughtered.

Really, it's a both surprising, and not surprising that they hadn't taken down the entire world yet.

Normally, when something like this was put together, the group had a agenda to take over the world, or destroy it, or do something else equally delusional and insane, all while claiming it's for a greater good.

While at the same time, something like this was entirely unsurprising.

Why should they take over the world, or destroy it, when instead they can influence everyone to the point that they will live in perpetual comfort and security? By not doing anything, or exposing themselves, they could simply _live_ , by the greatest standards imagined by sentient life.

Perhaps that's what they were all about?

Simply living in comfort and leaving the world to be controlled by their shadowy strings?

Looking down at the well polished tile of Beacon's tower, he saw the deep colour and his reflection briefly before looking back upwards. Seeing that Glynda and Ozpin were already standing in the elevator waiting for him, he moved forwards in between them before clasping his robotic hands.

Ozpin then hit the button for the top floor, and they were heading upwards.

Jaune already knew that there was a large glass panel behind them, which would be showing Beacon growing smaller and smaller, bright and wonderful as it bathed in the afternoon sun. Though, that wasn't what he should be focussing on.

He had the return trip to take in the sights.

They arrived at the top floor with a ding, and the doors opened, receding into the walls. He'd memorized their dimensions, and how they worked using a quick feel of his semblance, before stepping into Ozpin's office.

For someone like Jaune, it was a beautiful place. Moreso than nearly all others on Remnant.

Nearly the entire floor was clear, and kept pristine from dirt and dust. The glass making it up was overtop massive gears, turning and whirling systematically, with their own rhythm. Every second, he knew that the minute hand on the clock attached to the outside of the tower grew one sixtieth closer to the next minute.

Over and over, until an hour had passed.

The monotony, the predictability, the fact that nothing except for outside interference could stop it. Truly, it was relaxing.

Large floor to ceiling windows went out in every direction, giving a grand overview of Beacon Academy in all it's glory, the only thing blocking it the occasional pillar. Though, it appears as though due to their height in the tower, much more than only the Academy was visible. The ocean wasn't able to be seen, as it was far beyond the horizon, but rather a forest of green greated him, in an emerald hue.

"Welcome to my office Mr Arc." Ozpin said, walking towards his desk. It was exactly thirty meters from the elevator doors, and to the back of his desk was the clock on the outer part of the tower.

"Thank you for having me Headmaster." Jaune said as he followed him further. Glynda had taken a spot next to the Headmaster's chair, her crop in her hands as she watched his every movement.

Ozpin sat, wheeling the chair back towards the desk. Clasping his human hands in front of him against the cool glass top of the table, he looked at Jaune. "I'm absolutely certain that you know why you're here."

He nodded. "I absolutely do. By the way, you should all consider getting some sort of IT department, your defenses against malicious attacks are terrible."

"I will see if we can afford one in the next budget meeting." The Headmaster said dryly, looking at Jaune, before leaning forwards slightly. "I'm sure you're aware that hacking into our system broke at least a dozen Valean laws, and could result in a maximum of twelve years of imprisonment."

"However, should those files be released to the public, regardless if you did it or not, you will be facing the next ninety years in prison." Ozpin said, his glasses being pushed further up his nose before he nodded towards Jaune. "What's to stop me from having you incarcerated, and put so far in the middle of nowhere people forget you existed?"

Jaune shrugged. This was how he was going to play it huh? At least he's making Jaune work for it. Prove that he knew how to play these games of politics and control. "I've created an AI to scan all news feeds, which will look for 'Jaune Arc Arrested', and it will leak the files the second I'm put into a prison."

"I will simply keep it out of the news. Keep things _unofficial_." Ozpin said, the look on his face indiscernible. Had Jaune knew that he wasn't about to be thrown out a window, he was sure that he wouldn't be able to keep up this brave facade as well as he was.

Of course, he could be wrong.

"I also have a seperate AI, which is programmed to monitor my vitals through a nanobots in my bloodstream. The second my heartbeat stops, or something grows absolutely abnormal it will leak the files." He said.

Was he bluffing? Perhaps a bit, but there was no such thing as something unfair when you're doing it for the greater good.

Besides, even as a lie, having control over nanobots was something very, very badass.

"What if I said I didn't care about the files being leaked?" Ozpin said, before leaning back with a raised eyebrow. That's when Jaune realized something. "There is nothing there incriminating, and if so they wouldn't be able to pin it on me."

He hadn't taken a single sip from the ever present coffee mug on his desk since they'd entered.

"I've assembled a case against you already, with forty six different pieces of damning evidence tying you to insider trading, planned kidnappings, and inhumane experiments." Jaune said, clasping his hands. The black metal fingers slid between each other, acting like those of a real hand flawlessly.

"It's currently sitting on Blake's desk, as well as a flash drive holding everything else." The blond said. Glancing over to Glynda, he watched her face, but it was nearly set in stone. She must've been practicing, or trying real hard.

Everyone in here could've been a poker champion.

"There is so, so much more." Jaune said. Unclasping his hands, one of them placed themselves flat against his desk. Already, they were discreetly uploading a piece of malicious malware. It would burrow its way inside, and make itself unremovable.

Everything is connected. A convenience for most, but a flaw at the end of the day.

"What would stop me from turning your girlfriend into the authorities?" Ozpin said, with a bit of a grin near the end. He took a long, and deep draft of coffee. "You've already passed whatever test it is you think I was attempting to put you through, but I'm just curious."

"Which girlfriend?"

"Ms Belladonna." Ozpin said seemingly surprised at the question, while Jaune just shrugged. Was he really that surprised that Jaune already had two girlfriends? Oh yee of little faith...

"I can't prepare for every eventuality, but most likely I'd lead the press onto you for letting someone like that into a school for hunters. Then, they'd investigate every nook and cranny of your operation, assuming no foul play is involved, and find everything you're trying to hide." Jaune said. It was something he'd put a bit of thought into, but not a huge amount.

He expected that Ozpin had at least a _bit_ of respect for his fellow man.

"Sounds interesting." The Headmaster said, while Glynda took a step forwards. "I can certainly see why someone like you can be invaluable to us, in more ways than one."

The other blonde in the room looked at him, brushing some hair out of her face before smiling down at him. It was _immensely_ rare for her to smile, only reserving it for very special occasions. "You've done well Jaune. I'm sure you will not let us down."

At that, he finally relaxed in his chair a bit, letting out a breath he didn't know he was bothering holding. Just goes to show that the subconscious is a powerful thing. Moreso than most people realized.

"Now, can you people _actually_ fill me in on what you all do, and why you do it?" Jaune said. Don't get him wrong, he appreciated the whole: 'You've done well padawan.' thing, but it wasn't helping them get anywhere.

At that, Glynda nodded. She understood what he meant. "We, are the protectors of humanity against the forces of evil. The _true_ bastions of defence against those that would see us returned to dust."

"I thought the protectors were supposed to be the hunters…" Jaune said, looking up at the two as they exchanged a look. He knew already. There was something worse than grimm threatening humanity.

It's the only explanation.

"Grimm assault our walls, while society breeds it's own threats." Ozpin said, with a deep breath as he stared at Jaune, his eyes showing how weary of the whole thing he's become. "Between the behemoths hoping to destroy us, to the corporations that rule over us, to the rogue hunters thinking they know best, humanity is in a sorry place."

"Yet the entire world claims we're in a golden age, of peace and prosperity." The student in the room finished for him, as the Headmaster nodded, staring deep into the brown pool of his coffee cup, praying it would bring answers.

"You already know much, and could piece together the rest. However, to save us _both_ some time, I'm simply going to tell you what needs to be known." Ozpin said, looking upwards into the eyes of Jaune. "Other things will be revealed in the future, as they become important, and as you gain our further trust… Do you understand?"

Jaune nodded.

It was a situation which wasn't the best, being totally honest. Jaune was going to know what he needed to know. What that was, would likely put him firmly on the side of Ozpin, and the others in the group now mentally dubbed as the 'Ozluminati'. Of course, he would have to take it all with a grain of salt, assuming things were being hidden from him.

But, he would have to remember, that as Ozpin could destroy him, he too could destroy Ozpin.

"You can leave now Glynda… I'm sure your day has been long enough as it is."

They would have to trust, and believe in one another, lest they destroy each other. It was an arrangement where if one ticked off the other, they both got the shaft. Nobody won, if one of them made the other lose.

That's how it would have to be.

"We are the top one percent, of the top one percent." Ozpin said. "We are few, but together, we are without a doubt the absolute most important, influential, and powerful people on the face of Remnant."

"Some of us simply provide funds. Others provide things like services, information, manpower, safehouses, gear, materials… All of these important people contribute something." Ozpin said, before turning around in his chair, and waiting for Jaune to join him at his side. Standing, he joined the Headmaster, and leader of the group.

"I… I am in charge of it all. I provide the next generation, with the knowledge that they will do their best to protect the people of Remnant." Then he took a sip of coffee, and continued once more. "But, some slip between the cracks, and go Rogue."

"I assume General Ironwood does something similar?" Jaune asked. He saw their chat logs in the files, and already knew that James Ironwood was involved. "Providing military support, political power, as well as information."

"All of that and a bit more." Ozpin said. "Though, there are others of us like Glynda, who are simply so deeply ingrained with my own position that they too, are involved. Though, people like Glynda are difficult to come by."

"So, everyone provides something, but for what?" Jaune asked. Patience wasn't something he was lacking, but it wasn't something he really had in abundance currently. After all, it's not every day a clandestine organization of the top one percent, of the top one percent reveals itself to you.

"We take all these materials, all this information, in our fight against the ultimate threat against humanity…" Ozpin said, before looking further out the window. Despite the clock hands in the way, there was still a view of most of Vale.

" _Salem_."

"Salem… Sounds familiar, like I've heard it before but I can't place it." Jaune said. It was _somewhere_ in his mind, that word. But he couldn't pinpoint it, despite his best efforts. "What is Salem?"

"Not _what_ , but perhaps _who_ is a better term for them." The Headmaster spoke once more, his hands now resting against his chair. "She is an abomination. Someone so evil, that negativity was drawn to _her_."

"With negativity comes grimm…" He said, though what that could mean was anyone's guess.

"That's correct. I don't know what Salem is, or if I ever did, I do not remember, I can assure you… But she, if a gender can even be applied, is something larger than life itself." Ozpin finished, giving a great big sigh. Jaune looked down at the still sitting man. "She may as well be a god."

"Her powers seem limitless. I haven't even bothered writing what we know she can do, because it may as well be _everything_. Though, for now, Salem is trapped far, _far_ away from the civilized world." The coffee fueled man said, looking back to Vale, before turning back to his desk.

"Though, that does not mean that her threat is entirely kept at bay. The grimm come from her, are created by her, and are loyal to her, and only her." Ozpin said, before once more gesturing to the chair across the desk from him. "Would you count yourself a religious person Jaune?"

Noticing that he'd stopped calling him 'Mr Arc', Jaune straightened. This was important. A small thing like that might've seemed like a slip of the tongue from anyone else, but from people like Glynda, and Ozpin, this was majorly important.

He was grateful that they trusted him with all this, as already his mind was racing.

"No… The universe is nearly infinite, if there _are_ gods, they must've created us, then left long ago, to take care of the other people like us, the small people needing help against cruel worlds." Jaune said. "Either that, or we, like other intelligent beings in this universe, are complete flukes, created when the conditions were coincidentally just right.."

"I know not of the universe as a whole, but Remnant once had gods." Ozpin continued, taking Jaune's answer into account. "The Brothers of Light and Darkness, one blessing the people of Remnant with dust, and aura… Another cursing them, with grimm, and hatred."

"Do you think they're somehow connected to Salem?" Jaune wondered out loud, letting Ozpin hear so he could continue.

"They're connected _somehow_ , but I don't think they meant for it to get so out of hand. The grimm were created by the Dark God, though now they're created and maintained by Salem…" Ozpin finished, letting Jaune continue.

"So she's somehow taken control, and you don't think they'd allow that?" Jaune finished for Ozpin, who nodded confirming his theory of what the Headmaster thought.

"No. But, I think that is why they did give us the means to keep her where she is… Albeit in a strange way." Ozpin said, before tapping his foot against the floor of his academy. "They once blessed a man, the first person they created, with great powers…"

"Powers of _magic_." He finished, a twinkle in his eye, as he stared at the heir to the Arc Corporation.

"Like aura, or semblances?" Jaune asked, waiting for Ozpin to intervene, before explaining himself. "Things manifesting from our soul, and our personality? That seems pretty… Well, it's certainly not something that's natural."

"More powerful than that…Things which would seem impossible, even with a semblance and with aura, were easily within this person's grasp." Ozpin said, before putting his hands back onto his table and making a few taps with his hands. Flesh and blood, unlike Jaune's own.

"This person, was labeled the Wizard. Eventually, people apart of this organization, as tribute to the great Wizard who locked up Salem, named her the Witch." Ozpin said. "The Great Witch, bested in ancient times by the Great Wizard."

"How did he lock her away?" He asked, curiosity burning within him. Salem may be a god, or have the powers of some sort of celestial being, yet she'd been blocked away. This, he felt, would be the most important part of their meeting today.

Jaune reckoned that _this_ , keeping her locked away, was the main purpose, of the Ozluminati.

"First, he found four willing Maidens, who fit his criteria to hold onto parts of his power." Ozpin said. "The Story Of The Seasons, you can find it in the school's library. So, he split up his power among the four, scattering them across Remnant."

"With them, I assume came civilization, and the greatest adventures and fairy tales we still talk about today?" Jaune asked, getting a nod in return.

"They built up civilizations, protecting from the grimm so mankind could flourish, and build walls, before they fought back themselves." Ozpin said, before raising a hand, and finishing the taps he'd been making on his table. "He then had them create an Hunter Academy in each of the four civilizations they helped to create."

"Mantle, Vacuo, Mistral, and Vale." Jaune spoke, listing out the countries he knew were still around.. "While the names, and borders may have changed, no school has ever fallen. Mantle may now be Atlas, but it's the same civilization, and people."

"Yes. As the Hunters became trained and fought back, the Maidens were able to return to the Wizard." Ozpin said, before standing from his desk, and looking at Jaune. "Then, with their powers combined, they halved the halfs, creating four relics of power, which were then placed in each of the Hunter schools, safe from grimm and man alike."

"How did this trap Salem away? Surely there must be more to it than that…" Jaune said, looking at Ozpin, who gave a small hum.

"You're correct, and the layout of every Academy on Remnant is very specific. We go upwards, we don't actually expand buildings outwards." Ozpin continued, before gesturing at any of the many windows around the room. "We _could_ , but for now this layout works best. It, along with the relics, work as a massive beacon of positive energy, keeping the grimm away."

"Hence _Beacon_ Academy?" Jaune asked, getting a nod.

"That's what we assume it was named for… Though, rather than a beacon of positive energy, perhaps it would be best to say it's a beacon of the strength of man, and how we triumphed over our inner and outer demons." Ozpin said, before standing and walking over to Jaune.

"The Relics themselves, also act as fields of protection against the grimm… Though, with enough negativity, it's been recorded that even then they can be overpowered." He said, and Jaune's eyes widened, focussing to the southwest.

"Mountain Glenn… It was meant to be a massive expansion of Vale, but it was overrun by grimm… Was that because it didn't have a Relic?" Jaune asked. This was an important question.

Ozpin meanwhile shrugged. "I do not know. Signs point to _no_ , though in theory it's possible. Get enough people together, out of the zone of a Relic's power, and they may fall…"

' _But not like this, it won't be by your hand.'_ A song came to Jaune's memory, before he banished it away for later. He'd more important things to be thinking about at the moment.

"So…" Jaune asked, finally prepping for the big question. This was important to his future, as well as that of mankind now he supposed… Everything now would revolve around this answer wouldn't it?

"What am I meant to do for this organization?"

Ozpin's lips pursed, and he was now standing beside Jaune. Taller by two, maybe three inches if Jaune had to make a really educated guess. His cane was by his side, and the coffee mug was still in his hand.

"Whatever you do, I can get you out of…" His headmaster, and now boss said, as he leant against his desk. "But first, do you acknowledge that you join knowing, that as soon as you do, there is a target painted on your back, and that Salem will want you dead?"

"I do acknowledge that I will no longer be safe."

"Do you acknowledge that if you join, you can not speak a word of this to people I do not approve of?" He said. That raised some complications, but Jaune was fairly sure that he would be able to get clearance for his Team at least.

Team Lavender might be a stretch… Though Jaune was sure, that should the entire world collapse, or if he was to ever absolutely and truly need their help, he would be able to tell them.

"I do acknowledge that this organization and everything related to it is to remain secret."

"Well then Jaune… I've got a few tasks for you, or rather, I know your job description." Ozpin said, before looking at the teenager, seeing his face, and deciding that yes. He was prepared to keep Salem trapped.

"You, Jaune Arc, are to take all our information, as well as resources, and think. Think of ways to let us improve, and create even more failsafes against Salem. We must keep her trapped." Ozpin said, before tapping the table again, and Jaune saw as screen come up which then disappeared.

"Then, you will do what you must. Whether that be fighting terrorists at the docks…" Ozpin said, tapping his hand against his cane, the top of it making a dull ringing noise. Looking at his hand, he noticed a small ring there, not ornate, but nice.

Ah… So it appears as though yes, the headmaster _had_ known about that whole debacle.

"I also see everything students bring in when they enter Beacon, and the armor you've developed for your team is quite incredible." The Headmaster continued, gesturing to Jaune. "All I know is that the design is highly effective, and I would supply funds should you need to make more for the others involved with us. You could help with your technology, and ideas."

That was most likely the largest way Jaune would help. His designs were effective, and depending on how many field agents there were, he'd be able to potentially save a lot of lives with his equipment.

Of course, he wouldn't really need for Ozpin to fund that. Jaune himself was worth several billion Lien, so something as simple as buying armor, or funding nanobots was simple.

"...Or, by stopping a kingdom from falling. You're to do what you must, to keep Salem trapped." The Headmaster said. "That, is our main purpose, perhaps second only to finding a way to banish her all together."

"I understand, Headmaster." Jaune said. He was a smart guy, he realized this. He was thinking already, of thousands of more ways to improve. Crossing them off lists, he went back and forth, finding and highlighting already.

He would make sure that Ozpin's trust in him was not ill-placed.

"But, one absolute thing you must do, is keep Ruby Rose, and Pyrrha Nikos, alive. Not out of danger, as our profession makes that difficult, but simply do not let them die." The Headmaster said. Why, it appears as though he would not explain, though Jaune already was coming up with several theories as to why it was vital.

After all, it appears as though fairy tales were more real than most people thought.

Metal knuckles bending back in an unnatural way as he moved himself away from the desk, Jaune began walking over to the elevator before Ozpin stopped him with a look. "By the way, we _did_ get an IT department after your attack. Good try though, I'm sure it would've gotten us before."

Shaking his head, Jaune stepped into the elevator before turning back to Ozpin. While he may have gotten an IT department, that wasn't much compared to a prepared, premeditated, and impossible to stop attack.

"You're a good chess player Ozpin, always five moves ahead." He said, quickly timing it in his mind, so that it would work out perfectly. "But I'm a great chess player, one move ahead, with the right move every time."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

After the massive information dump he'd just experienced, Jaune most certainly needed a bit of a break. There was nothing to do for the rest of the night, and classes started tomorrow, so he was fine for homework.

Good. He would have some time to just relax. Relax and recharge as he thought about everything.

' _I can't say that being introduced to a secret society was on my to do list today… Well, that's a lie. It was. But there's a lot more going on here than I thought. A Witch who controls grimm… Certainly seems terrifying, the stuff of nightmares really, though I myself have had some rather bad ones.'_

Walking down the paths of Beacon, Jaune quickly withdrew his scroll. That last line was done just for the purpose of making Ozpin doubt his security, but it was done with a reason. If doubt was in his mind, he'd be more inclined to get better and better security.

Really, paranoia was the best thing for something like this.

It would mean that he would constantly feel under observation, or that he was unsafe. Thus, he would continue investing, until eventually everything was at the absolute best quality it could possibly be. With the seemingly limitless funds in the group, Jaune was sure that in the Beacon budget or not, they were about to get security, and firewalls which were mightily impressive.

Though of course, as good as their tech and walls may be, there's still always the problem of human error. Human error was a bad thing, exploitable in so many ways. Had Ozpin _actually_ and _properly_ threatened to have Blake arrested, Jaune wasn't sure what he'd do.

Chinks in the armor. That's what people were to other people.

But at the same time, knowing that the people he loved made him exploitable wasn't a bad thing. If anything, it almost reminded him that he was painfully human. Despite the thoughts, the robotic arms, the things he can do, and has done…

He, like the others, is a human. (Well, in Blake's case a Faunus, but I'm sure you understand.)

Sighing as he walked down the halls of the dormitory, he took a brief moment to think about the carpet under his feet before realizing he was getting distracted once more. Shaking his head very slightly, he kept walking.

There was no reason to berate himself really, but to be distracted by a carpet he sees everyday?

Really, what he _should_ be thinking about is Salem, the Relics, the Maidens, the Academies… Everything relating to this new organization should be focussed on, and at the forefront of his mind at all times, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He was exhausted, and would have the next years of his life to work on this one problem. It would likely be his magnum opus if he solved it… His crowning achievement, besides perhaps becoming a father or something.

' _Ah, there's a cute thought. Someone like a miniature Yang and I, or a miniature Blake and I… Cute little ears, and bright, as well as fiery blond hair… They'd be sassy, and shy all at once. The most clashing of siblings, but at the same time the greatest of friends… Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here. We've been dating for a couple of months Blake and I, but Yang and I are only just getting started.'_

Opening the door to his room, he was pleasantly surprised to see everyone already there. He was half sure that once Glynda had left the meeting with Ozpin, that she'd gone to catch everyone involved, for severe punishment.

Thankfully, it appears as though that hadn't happened!

"Hey how's it going!" Jaune asked, slipping off his shoes, before walking over to the couch. Seeing Yang scooch over for him, he sat down next to her, his legs rubbing against hers before she leaned into him.

"Not bad hot stuff!" She said kissing his cheek before retracting herself. "Though, I should probably slug you for betraying me like that… A pufferfish to the chest really hurts you know?"

"What?" Had he missed something important? Was it all a strange dream that he'd forgotten or something.

Looking up from her book, Blake gave him a look that said he wouldn't be getting any snuggles tonight. "A pufferfish to the chest at least could be blocked with aura. Stopping me in my tracks with a link of sausages doesn't really work the same way…"

"B-but… What am I missing here?" Jaune asked looking to his girlfriends, the two of them raising eyebrows scarilly in sync before Ruby turned to him.

"What do you mean? Don't you remember what you did in the food fight earlier?" She asked. "You gave me a sausage and I shanked a guy! I mean, it didn't do much… But I think I got him!"

"Ah…" Yes… It was all coming back now. Strange how before it had been gone, or at least, out of his recent memory. To be fair though, there was quite a lot he was keeping track of currently. "Sorry about that girls… I guess I kind of just got lost in the flow of battle."

Blake looked at him silently, while her face screamed 'really?'.

"Y-you know." Jaune said his earlier confidence of playing it off fading. "I… Blake, I know you used to date a really edgy dude! Surely he said stuff like 'flow of battle' and things right?"

"Yes, but it was always when he was doing something far less legal than closelining his girlfriend with a link of sausages." She said with a roll of her eyes, and he looked at her before smiling. His cat-like girlfriend smiled back, before returning to her book.

Wrapping his arm around Yang, as channel surfing Ruby continued flashing from one show to another, he placed his head sideways onto hers and pouted. "You'll forgive me too right Yang?"

"I already have." She grinned, patting his leg. His blonde girlfriend was a bit rough about it, but he knew she was most certainly gentle when she wanted to be. "But! As repayment, you're sleeping in my bed tonight! No Blake either!"

Looking to Blake he tilted his head. She shrugged. "I'm fine with it."

"Well, I can't really complain now can I?" Jaune said, leaning back into the soft fabric of the couch. His back hurt a bit, and he felt sore all over. Not to mention that the attatchement ports for his arms were starting to feel numb.

"By the way Jaune, are our gifts in those high tech looking suitcase things on our beds?" Ruby asked, pointing to her own bed, where his luggage sat, basically begging to be opened. "Also, why does one keep on beeping something which sounds like 'Stan'?"

"That's because that one is Stan." Jaune said, looking towards the one on Ruby's bed. He was beeping rather pitifully, and couldn't do more than the same tone. Jaune would have to put in some other tones.

Really liven the bot up sometime.

"But yeah, your gifts are in there… It's kind of late though, so I would really like to go to bed actually." He said, yawning and covering it with a cold metal hand. Had his other arm already not been around Yang's shoudlers, he would've done the cliche yawning arm trick then and there.

"Aww! I want to open them now! They seem like they'll shoot lasers or something!" She said. Not _too_ far off, as they certainly were high tech, but none of _those_ models actually shot lasers.

"Tomorrow sis." Yang said, before getting off the couch and offering him a hand. Taking his black neigh indestructible one in her own, she tugged him to his feet. "We've got school tomorrow, and need our rest!"

"Normally you're the one preaching we should 'party hard'..." Blake said, a small smirk on her lips as she quickly climbed up to her bed. Putting her book by the bedside, she was already starting to climb under.

Looks like she was as tired as he felt.

Grabbing his pajamas, he felt a hand smack into his bottom before he let out a yelp and looked over to Yang. Seeing her wink at him and get into her own bed, Jaune shook his head.

He did not deserve girls this amazing… Well maybe that was a bit of a lie since he's wonderful, but really. Sometimes they were too much, and that was perfect. They were without a doubt two of the best things in his life.

Heading into the bathroom, Jaune showered before cleaning out the connecting port in between his arms and shoulders. Now clean, they wouldn't cause pain, provided they were cleaned right. He would do it again the following morning to ensure that he wouldn't be uncomfortable for the next couple weeks.

Prolonged pain from it could lead to permanent damage.

Putting his laundry away, Jaune, still slightly hot from the shower, walked over to Yang's bed. The lights were off, but he'd memorized the way there by now. Moving to what would be her left side if she was on her back, he moved the covers slightly, before slipping under.

They closed tight around him like a cacoon, and her right arm slung over his chest, as Yang's entire body moved over. Entwining her amazingly soft legs with his in a way which pulled them closer and closer, Yang hugged him sideways.

Turning his body so that he was also on his side, he put an arm around her back, before resting his chin on her head. Her hair tickled his nose, but it smelled nice, and he enjoyed the lavender scent working it's way up to his nostrils.

"I love you Yang."

"I love you more."

He smiled, pulling her body closer to his, her warmth getting caught under the blankets pleasantly. Like a small body sized furnace, she just radiated heat, and his muscles relaxed. His eyes gently drifted lower.

"I think that's impossible Yang."

* * *

 **~o0o~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~o0o~**

* * *

 **Note:** I've started writing really strangely… It's in full screen mode, 150% zoomed in, but I _like_ it. Actually kind of makes writing more relaxing. Just me, and the text. Not so much empty page really.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed. I _really_ liked finally getting the plot rolling a bit, as well as explaining the Academies, Relics, and Maidens. Also, the Witch  & Wizard thing is _probably_ a personal touch, since that hasn't become a legend yet.

Well, it's near midnight for me… So, thank you for reading you wonderful people, have a wonderful day, drink a Pepsi, love a person like Yang, eat a sandwich, leave a review, and chat with some neat people on the internet!

-DragonManMax

 _(Shoutout to the amazing writers and artists on the RWBY Discord I'm apart of, as they really help get me writing! Also, they caught at least thirty seven spelling mistakes…)_

 **Review Responses:**

 **DuplicateUserName:** Servants/Staff was killed. Family was fine.

 **Random O' Panda:** That's just a coincidence.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you! Here 'till the end eh? Also, I've got the future Ozpin/Oscar/Jaune dynamic fleshed out now, since I know you wanted to see some stuff happening there.

 **merendinoemiliano:** Why thank you very much! Don't worry, the next two girls to join the 'harem' will take their time. Fights… Not too sure. They'll _certainly_ happen, but this is meant to be more of a 'thinking your way out' story. (Though, thinking your way through a fight is possible.)

 **1st Dragon King:** Updated a couple days ago :)

 **ZHsteven:** Yup! Haha, Ruby… Adorable, but bad with money.

 **Shawn1302:** Yeah, it's all good man! Also, I think the second one also got screwed. FF has been having some _**major**_ tech problems recently.

 **psp reader:** Thank you!~

 **Ezylryb:** Thank you very much! I didn't come up with it _entirely_ by myself however. I drew inspiration from 'The Name Of The Game' and one other source I can't remember, before making it my own.

Goodnight folks! Done just before midnight!~

-DragonManmax


	19. Chapter 17

_**~'I do not own RWBY. It is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum.'~  
~'This wonderful cover image was made by: Viperium Prime from DeviantArt.'~**_

 **Note:** I must admit, in the time I've been gone it's been this story that's surprised me the most in terms of growth. For some reason, it's gained quite a few new readers. (200-300 new followers since the previous update somehow!) So, to those here for a live update for the first time: Welcome! Please, let me know what you think: Reviews help me to help you.

Now, I am here for this story today! Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan tonight and tomorrow afternoon/evening, there should be a Woman Whisperer chapter. If not, it will be released Saturday, making the only thing not updated my smut.

What a shame.

Also, an announcement: I am looking for Beta readers! I've currently got three people, but I need two or three more! So, if you generally enjoy my writing, know grammar, and would like to be apart of the creative process, feel free to send me a PM.

* * *

 **Jaune Arc: Augmented**

 **Chapter XVII**

* * *

It turns out that when you've got kids spewing fire from their fingertips, busting silhouettes of themselves through brick walls, and knocking one another out on a regular basis, you'd need a few places for them to train without destroying the school.

While yes, there was such facilities for class, there was the lesser known but no less useful 'combat simulation rooms' on the first basement level of the school that were open twenty four seven. As long as it wasn't already in use, you could waltz in, and start blowing shit up to your heart's content.

Filled with noise, and explosives, and weapons alongside hormonal teenagers, it really was the perfect place to commit a that thought in mind, Jaune was shot by one of his two girlfriends four times in the chest, caught by complete surprise.

"Gah!" Gasping and flailing moments after his chest compressed, and the air was driven out of his lungs, he fell backwards onto his back, head hitting one of the hard foam mats with a thud. His teeth clenched, and Jaune's eyes flickered open against the bright white light.

Rapidly releasing his aura back into his system, Jaune felt the warm white infuse his limbs and spread out through his chest, pulsating like a second heart as it covered his insides. Rolling over his skin, it repaired anything that might've been damaged, but was pleasantly surprised to find nothing there.

He hadn't expected for it to work _that_ well.

Seeing a hand appear in his vision, he reached a black metal one up to meet it. Allowing himself to be pulled to his feet, Jaune stood now beside his team. Moving his hands out, he gestured to himself and then to them.

"So what do you guys think?"

Jaune was met with a bit of excitement, as he and the team chattered away a bit. "It's really light! I love how it feels no heavier than my combat skirt! In fact, it's lighter! That fabric was heavy! Not to mention this way I don't have to worry about the APSS of the combat skirt failing…"

"The what?"

"I'll tell you later." Blake said with a bit of a sigh. Whatever Ruby kept mumbling about was mostly kept to herself as Jaune looked around, a bit confused. "I agree with Ruby. The fact that it's as light and unrestrictive as it is, is a really good thing. This is something special."

"Well thank you, Blake." He said, looking over his work.

Plucking the bullets out of his chest with a pair of very steady fingers, he gently watched as the super-light, foam-like plate began refilling the hole they'd created. "Really, this stuff is great. With aura, there's no way any of us are getting shot. Not by a grunt at least."

Currently, he had been showcasing the armor he'd spent a majority of his break designing and having built. Stumbling across the material like he had had been an amazing break. Never would Jaune have thought something so perfect would fall right into his hands.

Though it didn't come without its flaws.

"So, what's the range we're talking about here?" Ruby raised from the sidelines, hefting Crescent Rose over her shoulder. "Blake was like twenty feet away, with her SMH there, could it take my sniper from that close?"

He shook his head. There was significant firepower behind something like that, and from that distance it would hurt to the point that the bullet not piercing wouldn't even matter. Aura was amazing, but it can't fix internal damage and bleeding if it was highly widespread… At least, not before it killed you.

"Shock would kill you, and if it didn't then internal bleeding would get you."

"But that's where the blood's _supposed_ to be!" Yang said, chirping in with a grin.

"You say that now, but it's nasty stuff. Internal bleeding itself can cause shock, which as we've established, can kill you." He shivered. "Last thing I'd like to happen is someone gets hurt because they trusted something I made a bit too much."

"Jeez, it was a joke." She said, eyeing him up a bit.

"Yeah, I know. Still worth establishing the dangers of it." Jaune said, continuing in his admiration of his own work before turning that admiration a bit more towards his girlfriends, and his girlfriends little sister.

They looked damn good in their new armor.

Making it colour appropriate to their usual styles had been a bit annoying, since it turns out fashion was a tough bitch to understand, but he'd managed it somehow. The designs themselves were easier, as it was essentially the same one over again three times, with altered sizes, and then one extra armored version for Yang.

Starting with Yang's, it was clear that she continued her role as the tank of the group. The light, foam plates were put on her body at important locations, and what joints were left had their own specially fitted plates, so even then there was little way to get past them. Plating ran up and down her spine, then spread around her shoulders, and down her breasts stopping just below them. What was below the plates was a weave of nanotubes that was tougher than steel. There was little if any way anybody could hurt her when wearing that.

Still showing off her amazing figure the suit was skin-tight and didn't contain a helmet, so her long lustrous hair still ran down her back to just above her butt. Designed to match her bright and fire-like personality, it started at a deep red near her boots, going lighter in shades until it reached the top of her armor, with a bright unapologetic orange. Rippling a bit in the light, it looked like she was walking flame, ready to start fires as she was in a firefight.

With the way it played to her strengths and weaknesses in battle, and physical good looks, she looked as gorgeous as usual.

"Everyone's suits works with their semblance, by the way. Yang, yours was a bit harder to make work, but I think I managed it in the end." She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Your aura still projects over your armor, so your semblance should still be activatable."

"Of course, I got really lucky. This stuff is fireproof."

"Ah yes. I hate it when my enemies would set me on fire and I was forced to stop drop and roll in the middle of a firefight." Blake said sarcastically, but not without good reason. Setting a person on fire was much harder than TV would have you believe.

People didn't burn very well.

"More important for Yang, since you know, she semi-sets herself on fire when she's angry." Jaune said, winking at his girlfriend and continuing on with his path of thinking. "Fireproofed from the inside out. Only unfortunate thing is that this stuff won't stay liquid, so I can't turn it into a fire extinguisher."

"Thanks!"

"You're very welcome."

Eyeing over to his other, more quiet girlfriend, Jaune's eyes stayed a bit too long on the lower part of her armor before roaming back upwards.

The form fitting _cat_ suit was less thickly armored than Yang's, yet the lesser amount of armor let there be a slightly greater range of movement, that would surely benefit Blake's acrobatic style of fighting. Rippling in what light came from the overheads, it seemed like she was both there, and not there depending on the moment. This gave Blake the strange effect of having her head in perfect view, while her body seemingly came into and out of existence. In addition, he'd added some pieces that would further muffle noise, making her walk near silent.

Coloured like dusk, the armor was a darker purple when it came to the underlayer, while the plates themselves were a lighter purple that came through a nice matte when it was visible. It suited her well, and Jaune could tell that she was pleased.

"Blake's is either cooler, or less cool depending on who you are." Jaune said, looking at her as she let her own amber eyes roam over her forearms. Her eyes traced along the strange effect of the material, going down the slim gloved hands.

The suit itself was nearly one piece, save for a few that needed to be donned separately.

"As I'm sure you can see it's more of a stealth suit, made more for infiltration and hiding in plain sight. While not perfect, any amount of hesitation the texture brings your enemy will always be useful." He continued. "You can turn that setting off if you don't like it."

"I'm sure grimm are hardly smart enough to see past it, at least." Blake said, taking a breath. "While their sense of smell isn't dulled by this at all, I very much enjoy the thought of slipping behind one before putting it down."

What everyone sometimes forgets to keep in mind is that they're not always up against human or faunus criminals. The _main_ job occupation, other than keeping the cities intact by the positivity their presence generates, is to slay grimm.

Some grimm, while intelligent, wouldn't be looking at her face specifically, or be able of paying that close attention through their bloodlust. Not to mention… With a suit _that_ form fitting, it's very unlikely that someone would keep their eyes on her _face_.

Scent was a good idea. He filed it away later.

Strapping Ember Celica to her wrists, Yang twisted the shotgun gauntlets into place and they gave a small click. Appropriately coloured, the weapons fit perfectly in place for the rest of the outfit. Blake too, strapped Gambol Shroud to her back, using the magnetic clip to stop it from falling immediately.

Every day they looked more professional.

Looking over to Ruby for last, he was personally the most proud of her outfit. The design was very good, and held her form nicely, while keeping her far more protected than she'd ever been before. Her reddish black hair slightly rolled onto her shoulders.

The plates were a very bright red, and the undercoating was a bright, stark white that even Weiss would be proud of. The contrast made her look bright and cheerful, which was appropriate for the king young girl. As the leader of the team, she was their main interface with the rest of Beacon, and in another sense, the world. It was good to have such a brightly coloured individual in the forefront, and if there was anyone that would bring hope, it was someone dressed like a superhero.

Goth lolis were so twenty fifteen.

"Lastly is yours, Ruby. While I'm sure I didn't manage to fit enough in there for your liking, I did what I could. You've got quite a few new features… Too many to explain in the short time I've booked us for here." Jaune said, looking at the little girl grin.

"Did you make it so I can turn into a tank? Or a fighter plane? Can I fuse with you guys to control a giant mech? Is there swords!? I can't use swords, but I'd love to have them! Oo! And flamethrowers! I need a set of those!" Talking on and on about her ideas for his armor, Ruby continued on and Jaune was sure he'd have to show her how to fit her own ideas in there at a later point.

"Not quite. Besides, flamethrowers are my thing." He said, looking down at his hands. The palms opened like a camera shutter, spiraling back into the metal before leaving the opening of a tube visible. "And to be honest, I don't think I should let you play with fire."

"But Yang does it all the time!" Ruby said pouting, even as she strapped Crescent Rose to her hip.

"Just because your sister is a pyromaniac hardly means you should be too." Blake said, popping into the conversation from the side. Jeez, in his peripherals she'd been nearly invisible to his sight. He was a bit blown away by his own armor.

"Hey! I'm not a pyromaniac! … I just like fire, that's all." Yang said, finding matches somewhere, and holding them up for effect before blowing one out. "Besides, it's not like I can stop _myself_ from going on fire. They had it coming!"

"There's stuff built into yours." He said, before looking down at his own suit. "Not as much as I will have built into mine when it's finally ready… But you'll have stuff."

Currently wearing a version of the armor most resembling Yang's at the moment bar the sleeves, his stark white plates were on top of a black under layer, and provided more than what was needed armor to his frame. He looked like a fit, young huntsman spokesmodel if he'd ever seen one… Assuming some people found scraggliness attractive.

However to be fair, he _did_ have two girlfriends, which meant that number was at least two.

"Why _is_ your armor taking so long to be done? Didn't you have ideas for it like four years ago?" Yang said, slightly jabbing him with the reminder of how long it's taken for him to create his own armor. It hurt, just a bit, right in the feelings.

"You can't rush perfection Yang." Jaune said, trying to steer the conversation away from what would quickly become clear was a lack of inspiration for his own armor. The design was done, but what finishing touches he would add simply didn't come to him.

And that frustrated Jaune to no end.

"Now, if everyone may take one of these…" Jaune said, holding out a small, rectangular box towards them. Crowding around, they each took a spot before he opened it, revealing four colour matched triangle-like little pieces of metal. They had a small light on it that looked to be an indicator, but that was about it.

Reaching in, everyone took their own before turning it over in their hands, inspecting it. Already, Jaune could see that Ruby was looking for any way it could be turned into a weapon, like a mind controllable missile.

It was not, though that was another idea he put away in his mind.

"Now, take it and place it above your left ear." Doing the same with his own, Jaune's robotic hand creeped towards his ear before stopping above and pushing the metal piece against his head. He felt a tiny snap, as it opened and attached to his hair.

"Ah!" Yelping Yang tried taking it off before pouting that it stayed on. "Damn thing bit me… Better not leave anything in my hair either, or I swear you'll be missing a girlfriend by the time the day's over Mr Rich."

Gulping, Jaune continued. "This, is called a focus. My previous helmet design was alright, but this one is better. Tap twice for a helmet."

Doing so, he felt it deploy in seconds, snapping around his head protectively. His own helmet was white to match his armor, while Ruby's was white and red, Blake's was various shades of shifting purple, and Yang's was a bright orange.

It was aggressive in design, but it was also effective.

Their eyes glowed thier respective themed colour, and from the outside they were a scary sight. On the inside however, the story was a bit different. There was a heads up display built in, feeding them information on one another as they looked around. He was already used to it, but let them awe for a second at the information appearing around him as they looked at him.

As it was designed to do, it fed them all sorts of information. Acting like a scroll, it fed them their own aura levels in a non-obtrusive way, while measuring the outside temperature, air quality, noise level, time of day, an estimated distance from one thing, aim assist… That was only for them.

The moment Jaune looked at Yang, he could see her aura level above her head like a game, as well as some general dimensions like height and estimated weight. That last little tidbit surprised him a little looking at Yang, but he supposed she was top-heavy enough for the number to make sense.

Tits weren't exactly light.

"What do you guys think?"

"Damn." Came a sound from Yang, that was then routed through the built in microphone and earpiece to the team's channel. "This is pretty freaking awesome, I've gotta admit that."

"I agree with Yang." Blake said, already tampering with some settings. There was simply no giving the perfect present it seems. "You can change all sorts of stuff here too. There's a lot of options, so I'd recommend taking a look like I am now."

"Ruby? Your thoughts?" Jaune asked, getting no response before looking at the girl. Yup, she was still there. Was it a calibration issue? Had he accidentally just killed the girl with something designed to protect her?

"Oh sorry! Apparently I muted myself! This is awesome!" She said, squeaking over. Jaune couldn't remember making 'muted' her default option for when she enters a chat, but he figured it might've been possible. "Now we can communicate and stuff!"

"Not to mention it'll keep others from hearing us. No more need for silly attack codenames, like 'bumblebee' or 'lancaster' or gods, ' _knightshade'_." Jaune could practically hear Blake roll her eyes as she said that last one, and he felt personally attacked.

"My feelings, Blake. Remember my feelings." He said, before grinning to himself. "Besides, I've already programmed those names in. Those are the codenames for our duos in class or when we're partnered up on a field mission or something."

"Aww. Are there no three person names?" Yang said, perking up. "I'd love to have a threesome… of names that is the name for three people at once."

"Whatever could Yang have meant before. Thanks for explaining, Yang." Blake said, amused with the blonde. "Really, well saved right there. Though I must admit, I'm flattered you're so enthusiastic about the idea."

"Woah, keep it PG guys." Jaune said looking at Ruby. Before tapping down the helmet. It snapped shut, but the heads up display was still there. It was an early bug that he later adopted to a feature. There was times it was better to have your helmet down, and being able to see all that information regardless was very helpful.

"Hey! I'm older than thirteen you know!" Ruby said, with a very clear blush present once the helmet had shut itself. "Also, why can I still see all this? You didn't burn it into my retinas did you? Gods the horror! Jaune why!?"

Shaking her fists at the sky, Ruby changed the setting to keep it on while she did so. "Much better."

"Anyways, here's your guys' presents, what did you all get me?" Jaune said with a cheeky smile, before being met with several faces that seemed a bit caught off guard by the question. Yang had a smile that for some reason wasn't reassuring, and Blake seemed somehow more quiet and awkward than usual.

Walking up to him, Ruby put a hand on his much taller metal shoulder. "I have some bad news."

* * *

 **~oOo~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~oOo~**

* * *

"I mean, can you believe it? I do all that, and their _amazing_ gift is destroyed in shipping when coming from Patch by a giant sea grimm." Jaune said, looking Ren right in the eyes. "Unfortunate for me I guess, but hey. That's alright, they can hardly control the ocean."

Ren looked at him for a moment, and something unknown flashed across his face before he responded. "It's indeed quite unfortunate."

"Yeah…" Jaune said, before polishing off his can of PepSchnee and playing with it on the table for a second. "Anyways, like I said earlier you guys will have some packages coming late tomorrow afternoon, so as long as someone's in the dorm to pick them up there should be no problems."

The generally quiet man took a sip of his tea before humming in understanding. "Someone will be in the dorm waiting, I can assure you."

"Good, good. It's just that that stuff is expensive, and losing it because nobody's there to pick it up would be quite the unfortunate event." Jaune said, speaking of course of Team Lavender's own set of new armor. "The girls seemed to really like it, so I hope you guys enjoy yours too."

Both Jaune and Ren were currently sitting in an on-grounds cafe that had recently opened up at Beacon Academy. The food wasn't the best, but the coffee was alright, the atmosphere was pleasant, and they were part of a chain that sold PepSchnee, so it was generally a good meeting place for the young huntsmen.

"Your dust-weave was particularly difficult to produce, by the way. I had no idea how to fix it until browsing some older records, and talking to Weiss." Jaune said, looking at the man. "Thankfully they've kept that information open to the public, otherwise it would've taken a lot more R&D."

The concept that dust could be woven into a fabric and activated by aura wasn't an uncommon one. However, it was an old practice that few people could still do, mainly due to the fact that it was quite inefficient compared to using regular dust crystals or canisters.

Why get a tiny spark out when you could shoot lightning for less?

"But hey, if it all goes right then there's enough dust in that thing that you should be fine until the end of the term." He said, continuing as he looked at the tea-drinking ninja. The second term had just started, and would be ending just after the climax of the Vytal Festival, for a summer break.

"Pyrrha's was really fun to design though. It's good to see she's finally getting some proper armor." Still talking on, Jaune found Ren a generally good guy just to talk to. He was polite, quite bright, and a man. Sometimes Jaune and Ren needed to get away from the girls.

Their only solace was each other, and occasionally Team CRDL.

"I mean, with her…" He felt uncomfortable just saying it. "... rather large amount of cleavage, she's actually left with quite a bit of an opening. You and Nora wear clothes, but people like Blake Pyrrha and Yang show far too much skin for some reason. Even for huntsmen."

"And how does that make you feel?" Ren said, ever the therapist.

"Yang Pyrrha and Blake can wear whatever they want, they're certainly not children anymore." Jaune said, before looking at his watch. "All I'm saying is that if someone gets stabbed in the kidneys it won't be my fault. Then Mozambique would _literally_ be repeating."

Taking some lien out of his wallet he put it on the table and paid for Ren's drink as well. He could certainly afford to. "It's been good catching up with you, Ren. Say hi to the rest of Team Lavender for me."

Nodding in farewell to him, Ren returned to his drink while Jaune strode out of the cafe. Another good thing about that specific cafe, was that there was few people who judged him here. While he may get irregular looks in a regular cafe due to the missing arms or b-list celebrity status, here people tended not to give two shits about you unless you were competent.

That said people cared a _bit_ about his presence, but he was hardly a freak.

Making his way around the meandering pathways of Beacon, he pulled his light jacket a bit tighter around himself. A pleasant breeze came from the inlet just down the cliffs, taking with it whatever brine smell managed its way up. Rubbing his hands together despite the fact it wouldn't help, Jaune began his walk in the direction of the Cross Continental Transit System. It was another few minutes before there was a clear view of the massive tower.

It was huge.

Positively tall in every way, it reached for the sky almost like it was attempting to be a space elevator, before widening into the large floor in which the call booths were set up. Unlike the white Atlesian one, the Valean one was a grayish colour that shone slightly in the light of the afternoon.

Truly something that was this grand made for a good peace present.

Looking at the top right corner of his vision, he used his semblance to turn on his Focus before reading the time and turning it back off. His mother had said that she would be calling from a business meeting about some things, and he should be in the tower waiting for her.

While the business _could_ run itself, would it really run itself _well_?

Unfortunately, it probably would not. There was a certain quality you had to have to run a business that large that some people simply didn't possess, and simply couldn't learn. But perhaps it was for the best: His family had done a generally pretty good job so far. Heck, as long as they didn't pull a Schnee and marry in someone who wasn't good for the company, or the world as a whole, their family should continue doing fine long into the future.

Or at least, that's what his prediction was.

Fiddling with his Focus a bit more, Jaune noticed something just on the edge of his semblance, tickling him in a way that he hadn't felt before. Like a piece of machinery he'd tampered with before, or felt out before with his semblance, it was familiar… Yet this particular piece was different, changing even as he probed it. It shifted and changed, and he became fascinated with it.

Jaune had no idea what it was, and he _loved_ that.

He tried to spot it but couldn't manage to see anything resembling what he was feeling in the slightest… Reaching out further, he tried to grasp it in his mind, to control, to alter it in the way he normally could, but it just slipped out of his mental grasp. However, he _did_ get a feel for it…

It was Penny.

Ruby's friend the robotic girl from a few months ago was apparently in town, near the CTT. Jaune could remember her general body shape, and assuming that she was indeed an android like he had suspected at their first meeting, then her walking around would explain her movement.

The constant changing could be the aura… Inanimate objects tended never to have aura, and thus couldn't interact with his semblance. But that could explain why she was so slippery in his mind's eye. Why she was ever changing, and strange feeling to his semblance.

Looking around, he tried his very best to spot the bright orange haired girl, but to no avail. However in his looking he _did_ managed to spot Weiss a little across the way in a new white outfit. Figuring that Penny must be in town for some reason, and he'd have a chance to meet her later on, he instead deigned to get Weiss' attention.

"Weiss!" Turning over her shoulder at his call, the chilly girl spotted him and stopped twisting, waiting for him to walk over with her arms crossed.

His first thoughts were that she was somehow cross at him, before he realized how cold she likely was. While it was a sunny spring afternoon, that didn't mean the temperature was back to normal yet.

"Good afternoon Jaune. How are you?" She said, brushing some white hair out of her face for a moment before looking around the general outside of the tower. He would've joined her looking had he any idea what she was looking for.

"I'm doing quite well, thanks. How're you doing?" He said, continuing their conversation before gesturing around at their surroundings. "I can't say I expected to see you at the CCT today."

"I'm doing alright…" Weiss said, before pulling her white coat a bit closer over her small frame.

"My father is making me go on a call with him to discuss… Discuss _something_ or another I suppose." She said, shivering either at the thought of talking to her father from across the globe, or from the still chilly temperatures. "I'm not entirely sure of what he wants, but if it's really worth bugging me over then I suppose it's important."

"Hey, I'm sure it'll be fine." He said, before gesturing to the CTT. The two of them started walking side by side towards the massive set of doors at the base. "Your dad… Isn't the greatest guy, but he's still your father. He almost certainly doesn't wish death upon you."

"Only 'almost' certainly?" Weiss asked with a little bit of a smile tugging at her lips.

"Weiss, I'm very clearly not your dad. If I was things between us would be quite awkward, since I'm your age." Jaune said getting her to laugh, and he nudged her shoulder. "Since I'm not your dad, I can't say anything for certain. People are one of the few things you can't ever be certain about."

"Not exactly reassuring, Jaune." She said, continuing towards the elevator with him.

"Doesn't have to be reassuring, and it wasn't _meant_ to be reassuring." He said quite bluntly, hitting the button for them both as they went up. "My mother just wants me to sit in on a conference call between her and some of the other board members... If you'd like I could talk _with_ you to your dad."

"Really?" She asked, a bit surprised. "Not everyone would do that."

"At the end of the day Weiss, not everyone _can_." Jaune allowed himself a moment of pride. "Not everyone is able to disagree with your father and have their business survive. If I come now, and things escalate, I will have won _twice_ , against your father."

"Oh... That most certainly wouldn't make him happy." She said, before she muttered it again, this time with a little smile. "Alright then. You know what Jaune? That _would_ be rather appreciated. I've almost given up on winning against him, so it makes me glad at least _you_ haven't."

Jaune smiled internally to himself. A warm feeling filled him, and he felt progressively better about himself as they rode the elevator up. Helping someone out was such an easy thing to do people often forget to do it at all. Just a compliment, or a simple thing like picking up the tab for someone's coffee could make a day. Men got complimented so rarely in fact, a single one could make their month.

Being able to help out a friend like Weiss in such a simple fashion truly was wonderful to him.

"I mean, just because I'm here _now_ doesn't mean I always will be…" He said, continuing his chat with Weiss as they went up the _colossally_ slow elevator ride. "You've stood up to your father before. That's why you're here at Beacon. That's why you're a huntress in training in the first place."

"Ah yes, my not-so-little little acts of rebellion against him." Weiss commented, puffing up with a bit of pride. It was a funny view, the small normally poised girl getting filled with that kind of self-pride. She was oftentimes a haughty girl, and dare he say it, to some even rude at times…

But Weiss was hardly a bad person. She deserved the best.

"Yup. Just keep going with those little rebellions, and one day… Maybe one day…"

"Freedom will be mine?" Weiss said, almost setting herself up for an maniacal laugh of evil, before looking up at him from her smaller stature.

"Well I was going to say that he would probably die at some point, and _then_ you'd be free... But sure, I guess you could also get your freedom from little rebellions." He said, patting her on the shoulder as they _finally_ arrived at their stop.

Stepping out, Jaune took out his scroll to text his mother while Weiss reserved a talking station.

' _Helping Weiss with something so I can't make it. Love you.'_ Hitting 'send' Jaune let the CTT tower he was standing in amplify it like it would normally, before beaming the text across oceans and to his mother's own scroll. He folded his back up and slipped it away before looking at the white haired heiress.

"Our station is a few down this way." She said, gesturing in the direction of their station. Following her, Jaune reached his semblance out and touched all the systems of the tower, feeling it humm and turn and work.

Being able to control such a huge amount of things if he wished was an amazing feeling. He strove for control.

"Weiss, I forgot to ask earlier: Is that a new outfit?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow behind the heiress. She twirled around, and the skirt of the outfit took a moment longer than she did to turn. Walking backwards, she looked down at herself then at him.

He knew very well it was, but someone noticing that was sure to make her feel good.

"It is! I don't know why, but for some reason I rarely wear anything other than my usual dress. This is actually a breath of fresh air! For once I don't have to be chilly the entire time." Getting excited, Weiss preened. "And it has pockets!"

"Pockets are something I assume girls don't normally have the pleasure of having?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow as she showed off the pockets of the dress. She nodded, before sitting down again and slotting her scroll into the station.

"Yang has some normally, but other than _maybe_ Nora, I think she's the only girl that has pockets." Weiss said, logging in quickly before navigating to her contacts, and scrolling down to her father's name.

While she'd been talking he had slid a stool from another station over to this one, and sat back and to her left. He was out of frame, and tried his best to fit in. He would've slouched but that would've been unprofessional, and instead he moved his seat back, and sat as straight as possible.

There was a brief moment as Weiss tried to make herself seem more presentable. She checked her face in a mirror which she withdrew from one of her pockets, before smoothing out her hair. Going over some last minute details, she mentally prepared herself as well it seemed.

Kind of sad… How one must prepare so much just to speak with their parent.

Jaune meanwhile moved his hair over a bit, before giving up when it slumped back into the same place on his face. Ensuring that at the very least his shirt collar would look decent, he took off his coat and removed any wrinkles he could find with a small amount of heat from his arms.

"Ready, Jaune?" Weiss asked, finger hovering over top of the 'connect call' button. Seeing him nod, Weiss let her finger fall and the station began ringing. Jaune zoned out for a moment and took in all the information around him, before focussing back on the moment.

Weiss' father was neither a kind man, or a man worth underestimating.

He would stand with Weiss no matter the outcome of things here today, because at the end of the day he was her friend… And if that meant telling one of the biggest businessmen in all of Remnant to go shove himself, then so be it.

The Schnee Dust Company was behind Jacques… But Jaune had Ozpin's network. Ozpin's people.

Ringing once more, the screen went black, before flashing to a crispy clear vision of Jacques sitting down at his desk. Nobody else was in frame, and Jaune took in the moment of surprise that was there ever so briefly as he recognized Jaune.

"Weiss."

"Father. How have you been?" She said, ever so carefully. Like she said it a thousand times, she left no room for error in saying the very simple greeting. "I trust that any issues at home have been lessened since my departure."

Her statement at the end there prompted Jaune's thinking to pause for a moment before he filed it away and continued.

"Things have been _fine_." Jacques said, looking to another computer screen likely at his side. "I trust that you have been doing only the _best_ at your new school? Your semester's grades have come back, and I must admit, I'm disappointed."

"A average grade of one hundred percent is hardly something to be disappointed with Father." Weiss said, her icy blue eyes steeling for what was likely a very long conversation to come. Jaune himself looked over her shoulder, his own blue eyes locking onto the man's eyes after a brief roam over his fabulous mustache.

"If any child of mine is doing under one hundred and three percent, they may as well not be." He said, voice simmering over the line. Jaune very sincerely doubted he would go ballistic anytime soon.

He was not an impulsive man, only a cold one.

Jaune had met his type before. People who didn't care about how ethical or unethical a situation was… People who simply cared about their reputation, and the amount of zeroes on their check. People in their business were calculating, and cold, and it took everything he had not to feel… Angry, at the man right there.

Weiss let his comment slide when she should not have, and continued their conversation, getting straight to the point. It was remarkably clear that they were not close. Jaune remembered her from when they'd met, years ago. She had always seemed lonely.

Growing up in a place like that? With a father who didn't care, a mother that ultimately was selfish, a sister that was more concerned in getting out than fixing things, and a brother who was spiteful for no reason other than her birth…

That would make anyone feel lonely.

He was glad that she was happy now, or at least content. She had her team. Team Lavender was good people, and Jaune was sure that she had no lack of friends among Team Aubergine… Weiss was finding her place, it had just taken her a while.

And the fact that this man… This person wanted to still berate her for _still_ being loyal to him made Jaune sick.

"Father, what do you want?" Weiss said, looking at him. He was impressed with her nerves. "Everytime you call you don't do it yourself, except for this time. What is it that makes this time different from the rest?"

He took a moment and thought before speaking. "What makes this time different from the rest, Weiss, is the fact that I have a reason to concern. You hardly speak to us, or communicate in any way. Recently I've been told that you were involved in stopping a White Fang plot in Vale. This is unacceptable."

She nearly winced and he how hard she struggled inside.

"Mr Schnee, I very much would like for you to know that the docks was my fault." Jaune said, entering the conversation. The man's eyes widened, not out of anger, but out of new energy found to be spiteful. To be hateful. " _I_ was the one who coerced your daughter into joining. However I must admit, that the situation was very much under my control."

"Was it? Then why is it the news say it was nothing more than explosions, death, and destruction?" Jacques said, scoffing. "Listen, boy. You may think you're being noble, _kind_ even, by taking the blame for my daughter being there. For taking the blame of creating that situation in the first place."

"Now, whether you did or did not incite the situation, my daughter is a Schnee. Her responsibility, her _duty_ is to put her family first, understand? And that means putting _herself_ first, over the likes of _you_." He wasn't seething with venom, but he was near to it.

Jacques hated him with a passion.

"Coerced she may have been, it is her lack of will that caused her to follow anyways. Press coverage like this cannot be accepted. While this time, the die rolled well, and it ended up looking good, who is to say of the next time?" Jacques said, raising an eyebrow at his daughter, and Jaune.

"Next time?" Weiss asked, puzzled at his insinuation. Jaune too was. He hadn't been _planning_ another anti-terrorist mission anytime in the future… He was a bit too busy planning for protecting the world from The Great Witch, and her armies of darkness.

Significantly different, that.

"Weiss, Valeans are a strange people. They get involved in things they have no hand in, and have no right to get involved in. I know that with you around them, you will no doubt be involved in more and more spectacular stunts, until finally _you_ die, or _civilians_ die." Jacques said, looking at them both.

"Mr Arc, you quite frankly are the worst of this problems. Like at the docks, apparently, you are here _now_ getting involved with things you have no right to be getting involved in… The last I checked your name was not Schnee." He said, continuing onwards, powerful feeling. Jaune was sure his ego was inflating even as he spoke, soon able to fill the room.

"You're right but it almost was until what was it… You didn't want your daughter marrying a cripple?" Jaune said, looking him straight in the eyes. The other man was uncomfortable. "Because I'll say it straight, that's what it was wasn't it? There wasn't any situation involving 'other' proposals, or different people."

"I don't know wh-"

"No, it was because you didn't want a family that's not even yours to have what… The _shame_ of having a cripple? The _bad press_ of having a boy whose father was in a coma? The _disgrace_ of having an heiress marry someone you deemed _below her rank_? Below _your_ rank?" Jaune said, continuing onwards.

"Hardly I simply had a different offer. Weiss would've been happier." Jacques said, retreating. Trying to defend himself with whatever _paltry_ defences he could find and throw together. At the end, this was the worst choice he could've chosen.

"Happier? _Happier_? Father, if you _ever_ cared about my happiness you would've been different. You would be different _now_." Weiss said, clearly getting annoyed at his hypocrisy. This wasn't a moment where the father made the tough decision to save his family.

This wasn't that kind of tale.

In the end this was a tale where the father looked out only for himself, and tried to live on his 'success' through his children. The children he didn't care about. The children he saw as nothing more than a prolonging of himself.

"Don't speak to me in that tone!" Jacques said, looking down at his daughter before moving back to how he was before his outburst. The man was hardly Yang levels scary. Jaune had seen far, _far_ worse.

"Well _excuse_ me for wanting to be _better_." Weiss said, looking at her father. "My grandfather never would've wanted the SDC to become what it has, and you know that very well. Why he allowed you to take over I have no idea."

"He allowed me to take over because I know how to be a businessman." He said in response, face hardening. "So here is a deal, Weiss. _This_ is what I have asked you to call about: Either you leave Beacon, and return to Atlas to continue your studies. Or, you remain in Beacon, are cut off from all Schnee Dust Company coffers, and must make your way alone, and without any support."

Weiss sputtered a bit, and for that brief moment of weakness he pounced.

"You will have until tomorrow afternoon to decide." Jacques said, looking at his daughter. As he reached to turn off the line, Jaune flexed his aura, filled with this… This _anger_ towards him. That someone who wanted their family to be perfect didn't care about their family.

Jaune stopped the call from disconnecting.

"Leave me and him, for a minute." He said to Weiss, and she clenched her jaw before standing up and leaving. There was no use fighting it: Nothing good would come from resistance. Her little rebellions had been put to an end, here.

But, only if Jacques had his way.

"Really, I have had it up to here." Jaune put his hand over his head, which took it off frame. "You for some reason, continue digging yourself a deeper hole, each and every time we speak. You cannot get over the fact that people cannot be perfect, _pristine_ like you so clearly desire your family is."

"My family is hardly _pristine_."

"I know, but you wish it could be. You're a sad man Jacques, and if and when you die, will people care? Sure, they'll care, for a little bit, but what kind of world will you be leaving behind?" Jaune said, looking at him. "Would it be one that your wife's father wished for when he started the company? Or one you dreamed of in high school?"

"What will be left behind is a company that _will_ stand the test of time. I will leave behind a company on top of the world." Jacques said, looking at him with venom. "I know not how you keep this line open, but for as long as we're here we will duel words."

"I would but I don't fight the unarmed." He said, before giving a fake gasp. "Oh sorry, you might not understand that roast. I should've said: 'I would but I don't marry my daughter to the unarmed.'"

"Do you hope to accomplish anything, by angering me Arc? There is little you can do. Since the last time, I have kept a much tighter ship." Jacques said, looking him in the eyes more intimately than he would've liked. "Weiss will accept my offer, and return to me. Why? Because she _must_. At the end of the day, she is a Schnee. And without our coffers, our support, she's alone."

"That's where you're wrong." Jaune said, looking at the dapper man on the other side. "Here she's got more support, more friends than she's ever had before. So fuck you. You _and_ your company. Let me tell you what: I'm going to make you obsolete."

"You know as well as I do our world relies on dust… That our world relies on my company." Jacques said. Full of himself piece of-... "For as long as the dust stores continue, my company shall continue, and shall continue making money. That's how it is. We're unshakable: There's no way to remove us. A hundred years ago, sure, but now?"

"See, that attitude right there." Jaune pointed at the screen. "That will be your downfall. You feel so secure, so… _Safe_ , in your high tower, your position of power towards the world, you forget that the world has all sorts of ways of fighting back. You look down on everyone, laughing as their arrows cannot reach, only to forget the Grimm in the air above."

"No, your company will not be obsolete. That's not what I said. _You_. I will make _you_ unneeded." Jaune said. He had no idea how he would do so, but he would find a way. Automation, government takeover of the company, buying the company, ripping the rug out from under him.

"Hahahahaha." Jacques responded. "Please. I beg you to try."

This time, he knew Jaune would let him leave the call, and he hit the button to leave. Jaune leaned back on the stool a bit, and looked for Weiss briefly before figuring that she had entirely left the building. Chasing her would be pointless, so he drew out his scroll to get her a text, before feeling it ring in his hand.

Seeing a picture of Yang show up, he smiled for a second before opening the scroll. "Hey, I ended up being at the CTT longer than expected… Do you guys need me for anything or do you need me to rush right back?"

Yang shook her head. "Nah. I was just wondering if you'd want to go clubbing with me tonight. Turns out Junior's is having its grand reopening today!"

Junior's… Junior's? Jaune put his finger to his lip before finding it and remembering that night so very long ago. "Goodness. Alright, sure… A little bit of relaxation would be good tonight I think. After the conversation I just had, it'll be real nice."

"Oof. Parents being tough on ya?"

"Most frustrating part is that it's not even _my_ dad!"

* * *

 **~oOo~ Jaune Arc: Augmented ~oOo~**

* * *

 **Note:** And back to Junior's we go! Please, let me know what you thought. I feel like parts of it may have been rusty, and that's unfortunately just part of the process when I get back into it, and is another reminder that I need a beta-reader.

While I'm here: Some people have suggested that the toxicity I spoke of when explaining (very briefly) my unintended hiatus and loss of passion for RWBY was caused by Bumblb, or WhiteRose. While not these specific ships, I believe shipping as a whole, as well as the fandom (mainly the vocal minority) had grown too toxic, and was truly ragging on other lovers of RWBY for simply believing a different thing, or liking a different ship.

I must admit, I was like that. I do not like Dark Sun. However, I now see that I should not have been so harsh on some people who enjoy them. While I myself will not write it, if others want to enjoy it, they are more than free to.

Anyways, please: Leave a review, do as I did and drink a Pepsi tonight, get lost in some Warframe (I'm stuck inside it_ send help), be a good person to others in this fandom, get cucked from three wins in Magic: The Gathering (thanks a lot Alex), and have a wonderful evening.

 **Review Responses:**

 **desdelor97:** Thanks very much! Glad to see you around.

 **merendinoemiliano:** I agree. In the year since I've been gone, I've come to realize that harems don't _really_ work. It will be addressed more in the next chapter author's note. Likely, this will remain a three person relationship.

 **ZHsteven:** Err, this is awkward. Also: I think the previous chapter was handled well, but what do I know! :D

 **DuplicateUserName:** Illuminati symbol is shot into the sky.

 **1st Dragon King:** PepSchnee is the correct branding of Pepsi, yes. My apologies if I ever forget.

 **psp reader:** Hopefully this time it was a bit better. I understand the politics can be dull.

 **Tatydf:** Thanks very much! I try my best, and strive to improve more. I take quality and consistency as seriously as I can, though I must admit I've made mistakes. Your last sentence got cut off, and I'm going to say now that assuming you were going to say what I think: Yes.

 **B1ackAshes:** Thanks! Cinder will be touched upon again at some point. We're entering Volume 2 now.

 **LasTheJihadist:** Thanks very much! Though your name makes my CSIS agent nervous.

 **Venom Spirit:** Thank you. I have much to improve on, and still have some trouble (in my opinion) in balancing action and downtime. Video call!? Are you insane!? How'd you like the new gear? Jaune's by the way, was not touched on yet, but that was on purpose. The skill will be used more.

 **LasTheJihadist:** Hello again? How'd this happen. Dumb FF. I will certainly consider it! This story in particular I would like to give some loving to in terms of quality of downtime, combat, and overall writing.

 **GunBlade2019:** I was originally inspired by Ironman to make this story, and the first version was very much more so clearly based off it. However in this remake (the original has stopped existing), it's more my own ideas, with certain characteristics carried through.

 **lordrednight:** Thanks! Haven't seen Volume 6 yet, but I figure I can make it work, and if not, I will just make it very clear this is all my way.

 **randomidiot1816:** Speaking of IT, since last chapter about a year ago, I've begun a class on coding. I have no idea what I'm doing, but now I kind of think I might maybe know what I'm talking about… That alone means I truly am now a programmer.

As of a few months ago, Mozambique gained some real backstory. (Also, do you guys read through other people's review responses?)

 **-DragonManMax**


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